


A Maester in King's Landing

by ancient2new



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Aerys Dies Early, Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Other, Pre-Canon, Rhaegar is King
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-06 16:41:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 49,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21441604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ancient2new/pseuds/ancient2new
Summary: Hother Umber is a Maester in King's Landing.After Prince Jaehearys died 274, only a few couple of months after his birth, the World starts to change................
Comments: 82
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

It was a hot Morning in King's Landing in the year 274 AC and for a man born and raised in the North it was a stifling weather. Longingly he thought back to Oldtown. There, at least, was the Citadel build for good temperature inside to protect the Books and Scrolls and the Breeze from the Sea brought always a fresh smell of Ocean and Salt and Seaweed and fish and fruits and Wine from the markets. Here in the City of the King, no breeze coming from the Backwater ever managed to get rid of the everything overlapping stink of shit and piss and sweat and overold fish and blood and Fear.

He had learned the Stink of Fear here, in King's Landing it was ever increasing but in the last couple of days it multiplied.  
King Aerys, the second of his name, had the Wet Nurse of his son Jaehaerys beheaded after the boy died, not even a year old. The King that had seemed to get better and less mad when that boy was born, fell straight back into madness when the babe died. The Wet Nurse was only the first casualty of the ever growing madness of the violent and erratic King. Now it was whispered in the Streets of King's Landing that the Aerys suspected his latest mistress of being the one that was at fault for the young Prince's death and had her and her family brought into the Black Cells to be "questioned".

The Maester snorted and brought his thoughts back to the Patient he was just treating. This man of the City's Goldcloaks had deep scratches through his face after he and other Goldcloaks followed the Kings command and dragged the family of this mistress from their homes and brought them to the King's Keep. The Goldcloak liked to talk, telling of the torture of the unlucky mistress and her family and even of the Grandmaester Pycelle. The Maester stopped treating the deep scratch near the eye of the talkative Goldcloak.

"Are you just saying that the Grandmaester Pycelle is also in the Black Cells? Whatever for?"the Maester asked curiously.

The Goldcloak smirked with the unscratched side of his mouth and told that the mistress had admitted under torture that she and her family had killed the young Prince but that the poison was given to them by the Grandmaester Pycelle.

Maester Hother seriously doubted that the unlucky mistress or her family ever even planned anything like that, he remembered hearing in the Streets that the poor young woman had been really unhappy and afraid when the King had chosen her as latest mistress many months ago. He also doubted that Pycelle had anything to do with the death of little Jaehaerys. It was for a reason that the Old Gods and the New ones both had forbidden of brothers marrying sisters. Only few Targayens had ever understood that.

The Maester resumed his treatment of the Goldcloak silently while the man bragged away about being one of the men that made the Grandmaester scream and beg and that Pycelle tried to make them stop their torture of him by swearing that they all would be given loads of Gold by Lord Lannister. The Goldcloak chuckled while telling that. Maester Hother finished his work of cleaning all the scratches and sewing up the deeper ones and bid the still rambling Goldcloak to stand up from the Chair on which he was seated for the treatment.The Goldcloak was still smiling and chuckling as he was even through the whole cleaning and sewing up. The Maester narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, he was seldom as generous with his milk-of-the-poppy as he was with this Goldcloak but it paid off with all the new information.

The Goldcloak happily paid the few Copper Coins that Maester Hother charged and promised to follow the instructions of not laughing too much as to not tear open the stitching and to clean his face with clear and boiled water and to smear the scratches with the salve he received from the Maester.

Maester Hother shut the door behind the Goldcloak and then barricaded it. He stepped to the Stairs and went up to the upper floor of his little house. There was a single room, the same modest size of the room below and in it were ten big cages, each with a single Raven. He ignored them and went to the wall opposite of the stairs. A gentle push to the left corner of the tiny window there and the wooden panel on the Wall near the window gave away. Behind it was a narrow ladder which he climbed up to the hidden room above. The Maester had to stay bent in this room, it was barely more than half his height. He looked to the Ravens in this Room, free from Cages as they were. This night he would send news of the erratic behavior of Aerys with these Ravens, clear words to his home to be careful of the Madness of the South.  
He smirked, remembering how his last letter to the home of his family was the reason that their Lord Warden got rid of his flowery and false spying Maester and now had a dependable friend of his as new Maester and new plans for his Children. He often thought of how his life would be different if he stayed in the Citadel for a life of learning after his own House and his Lord Warden managed to save him from punishment for his behavior with the Whore.

But his Lord Warden gave him only two options, to either come back to his home and stay there unfinished with his studies as he was or to finish and to become a Maester for real,but after making his Chain then to leave the Citadel and to go to the Capital and be the eyes and ears in the South.

That was what he since then decided to do.  
He sent back home all rumors that had even a little bit truth in it, sent back to his Overlord all prices and trade news, the talks of the Nobles that he knew from treating their servants and was generally careful to never be suspected by anyone of doing so.  
It was now easier, the flowery spy was gone and he did not have to send the more important rumors and truths first to his family for them to get behind the flowery back to their Overlord.

Now, with the new Maester in Winterfell, he could send everything directly to his Lord, without fear that people that should not knew about some things might get the informations.

He looked again to the free wandering Ravens. The ten below were for Oldtown and Lannisport, for Highgarden and the Eyrie, for Sunspear and Gulltown, for White Harbour and Seagard and for Storm's End and the Arbor. All places where the merchants send to and received news from about trade and more. The payment for the use of his Ravens was part of how he officially made his living. The Ravens here in this hidden Room though, they were for his own Correspondence with White Harbour and Castle Black, with the Mountain Clans and the Mormonts, with Winterfell and with his own familyhome. With the Last Hearth.

Tonight three of these six Ravens would fly, one to Castle Black and the other two to Winterfell and to his Brother.

.........  
A few days later the Maester was buying some food on the market and everywhere the people were more tense and seemed more nervous than he ever had noticed before. Rumors were whispered, everyone was careful to be silent whenever Goldcloaks were nearby, nothing was ever said aloud.

Everyone seemed more afraid than ever to be overheard by people that might tell the official Law. The Maester wondered if anyone right now even know for sure who presents the official Law . Everywhere people were disappearing and that left the population confused and fearful.

The most lasting rumors were about the ending of the tortured-to-death Grandmaester Pycelle and that the Hand, Lord Lannister, had been brought into the Black Cells on command of the King by the Kingsguards themselves. The Maester was stopped in his musing by a Goldcloak Officer. It was the one who he had tended to because of deep scratchings. The Maester looked at the Goldcloak and saw more following the Officer.

"Maester Hother, on command of the King, i have order to bring you to the Red Keep. You'll have to follow me now."

The Maester looked annoyed to the Officer and then started to bundle up his purchases but was stopped of doing so by the Goldcloak.

"Maester, the command was meant to be followed immediately. Leave whatever you have bought here in the market, you are not allowed to bring it back to your abode first."

The Maester left his purchasees reluctantly at the marketstand of the elderly poultry merchant, who guaranteed to watch over it, and then followed the Goldcloak to the Red Keep. He asked the Officer about the reasons for the summoning but got no answer. He really missed the Citadel right then and even more his home. Damned King and his commands and Paranoia, making it so hard for everyone to follow summonings without being fearful of disappearing themselves. If it was true what the rumors told and even the Hand of the King was not safe from being brought to the Black Cells, who knew what could and would happen to everyone else.

.............

The Goldcloak Officer was silent the whole time while he and his people led Maester Hother up to the Red Keep. When they arrived in the first courtyard, a Kingsguard stepped out of the nearest building and stopped in front of the group. It was a tall Knight, clearly used to be seen as an intimidating and terrifying person of respect. The Maester snorted though.  
This Knight was not as tall as his own nephew, back at home and not as terrifying as some of the wildlings that he fought back at home as a boy.  
The Goldcloaks though, they were intimidated by this White Knight. Maester Hother could not see the face but he knew that the tallest Knight of the Kingsguard was the "White Bull", Ser Gerold Hightower, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

This White Knight now talked with the Goldcloak Officer and after a few spoken words, the group of Goldcloaks bowed and left the courtyard. Hother was alone with the White Knight, or as alone as one could be in a courtyard of the Red Keep.

For a short while neither the White Bull nor the Maester spoke a word, both just examined each other and then the Kingsguard nodded and bid Maester Hother to follow him.

They went through the first courtyard and turned left into a building which opened into another courtyard and then from there they stepped into a heavily secured building. In this building, the Kingsguard led the Maester to a staircase build from black stone and down they both went. Finally the White Bull stopped in front of a heavy door and the two Guards standing in front of it opened the door and let the Knight and the Maester enter.

Inside, sitting on silver wrought chair, was the King, enjoying the view and the sounds of a tortured creature. Maester Hother was brought forward by the Kingsguard and then forced to stop by the Kings side and then to sink on his knees in front of Aerys the Second of his name. The King not even acknowledged him at first, too enraptured by the blood trailing lazily down the back of a horrible disfigured thing that might have been once a human being. Now it was just a barely breathing and bleeding piece of tortured flesh and bones. The Kingsguard, still standing behind the kneeling Hother, coughed two times and Aerys Targayen finally turned his glittering purple eyes away from the bloody spectacle. He tilted his Silverhaired head slightly and the famous Targayen eyes shone with cruel pleasure.

"You are the Maester ...the Maester that i heard about....the one that once treated a thorn apart Officer to be able to honor his service to me and a few days ago you treated another Officer for wounds he received in his face when he brought the murderess of my son to me!"

"Yes your Grace, though the last Officer had only minor wounds."

King Aerys looked now fully to Maester Hother and than gave a sign for him to stand.  
"Go to her, this thing here is the murderess of my son, treat her and make her stay alive some more days, she tells so many things that i still want to hear. She is not allowed to die like her family, she stole my semen and poisoned my second heir and so she will die only when I say so. If she does it earlier than by my word, you will die the same way."

He smirked cruely while he said those words. The King stood up after this and he and the Kingsguard stepped to the door.

"Your Grace, without any kind of medical instruments and bandages and medicines, how should i help her stay alive?"

King Aerys turned his head back to the Maester, starred at him for a short time and then gave the order to his Kingsguard to bring all that the Maester needed but to control it before handing it over. They left.  
The doors slamned shut behind them and metal jarring was to hear.

Hother was alone with the poor tortured girl. He walked over to her and looked into what once was a beautiful face. There was nothing left of it. Her bottom lip was shredded and her upper lip was cut in two parts. Her teeth had been shattered and her cheeks were badly burned as was her whole top of the head. Every bit of hair on her head was burned away. She was hanging by her arms, both of which looked like they were pulled out of the sockets and at least broken once. Her knees, her whole legs were shattered and her naked body had been whipped so often that long stripes of bloodied and shredded skin hung from her.

Maester Hother looked carefully back to the door and after he was sure that nobody had opened it and that there was no spyhole, he lifted the left part of his Robe and opened a small leather pouch that was bound to his thigh. He pulled out two tiny bottles, tugged the strings of the pouch so that it was closed again and rightend his Robes. The Maester opened the first tiny bottle and carefully and as gently as possible tilted back the head of the barely lucid girl.

"Can you still swallow fluids and keep them? I have something for the pain, it works really fast and it will numb all your hurtings, it is all that i can do right now to help you."

The girl nodded slightly and opened up her ruined mouth. Maester Hother tipped the bottle carefully so that she not choked.  
Afterwards he gently helped to put her head back and to swallow all down. He opened up the second bottle and repeated all. She was breathing heavily but calmer than before. Hother looked around in the room and found some loose stones in the wall near the girl. He pulled one out and used it to ground the two tiny bottles to shreds and stopped only when they looked like dust. Carefully he put back the stone into the wall and looked over to the girl.

Her head was lifted slightly up and her bloodshot eyes looked at him with curiosity, though there was still pain to see in them.

"What did you gave me, i was in horrible pain before and now i feel nearly nothing."

She was hard to understand while saying this, because of her ruined lips and her shattered teeth. But Maester Hother only shook his head as answer, lifted one finger to his lips and she understood and started her sounds of pain again but now they were not really true anymore and only infrequently to hear. She was more quiet when she opened her mouth to speak again though. She asked the Maester if he had seen the dead Grandmaester or the Lord Hand but since Hother had not seen them but was brought immediately to her upon arrival in the Red Keep, he said so. She managed a horrible looking smile with her ruined mouth, the burned away skin of her face and her head looked strechted and started slightly bleeding because of the movements. And so she told the Maester of her revenge on those that had tried to use her and her family, the Grandmaester who forced her younger sister into sleeping with him and Lord Lannister that had forced her indebted father to bring her to the Red Keep in the first place, so that she could become Mistress to the King and Aerys Targayen would be distracted enough that the Lord Hand could reign without the interference of the King. A method he had already used before.

She told nearly gleefully of the torture of Grandmaester Pycelle, who screamed and screeched so loud that everyone was thankful when he finally died.  
Of the whippings of the Lord Hand that the King told her about. Of how the King loved to tell how he would torture Tywin Lannister next, while he watched her being stripped of her skin through the whippings.

Maester Hother, all the while that he was listening to the gruesome words, wondered when his medicine and other things of treatment would finally arrive. He would have to ask for the tortured girl to be relieved of her shackles so that he could treat her for real and make her survive for as long as the King would be wanting it. Hother felt sorry for the girl but he would keep her alive, though stoked on painkillers, even if death would be a mercy, for he wanted to keep his own life.

Finally, hard metal jarring was to hear and the door opened again.

..........

Finally hard jarring was to hear and the door opened again. Screams came from outside of the room and a different Knight of the Kingguard was nearly running inside. He stopped in front of Hother, his white Armor and cape and also his face, for he wasn't wearing a helmet, were splattered with fresh blood and he looked clearly panicked.

The Knight didn't bother to introduce himself but was shouting instead to Maester Hother that he had to follow immediately. He was not even waiting for an answer but instead grabbed the Maesters left arm and tugged him out of the torture room of the poor girl, forced Hother into a short run and down another couple of stairs. A couple of servants came running behind them and from around the corner screams were to hear and then the Maester was shoved into the first room around this corner and it was even more like a horrible nightmare than the one in which the girl was.

The two servants behind Hother and the Kingsguard had been carrying great amounts of linen cloth and now that the Maester was inside of this room, he could see why.

Tywin Lannister was hanging in the middle of the highceiled room. His legs were bound in irons which hung from the ceiling, so that his body was dangling upside down. He was as naked as the girl in the first cell and while he was bleeding heavily, the small pool of blood under him gave witness that he already had for some time now, he was also shouting, snarling through bloodied lips, his teeth looked blooded too and he didn't even looked as afraid as he should, given his horrible position right now. His arms were unbound and thus it seems that he managed to actually hit back when his captors had inflicting pain upon him.

The maester looked away from the still swinging and struggling Lord and instead looked over to the other people in the room.  
Besides the Lion Lord and Hother himself, there was the bloodspattered Knight that brought him, two roughlooking but also clearly afraid and horrified men dressed in simple and bloodspattered clothes themselves, the two nervous servants that were carrying the linen cloth, now kneeling in one corner with the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard himself. All three desperately tried to stop the bloodflow coming from the last person in this room. King Aerys cried and screeched horribly, while his struggles grew weaker and weaker.

The Kingsguard Knight behind Hother shoved him hard over to where the King was laying and when the Maester was kneeling down, he could already see that there was little Chance to save the Targaryens life. His throat was torn wide open, his always light-colored skin was deathly pale from bloodloss and all the many hands already trying to hold his neck close were useless. Before Hother could even say one word or do anything to help, the King opened his already huge and panicked eyes even more, struggled one last time and then stopped moving completely.

Aerys Targaryen the second of his name, was dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Aerys Targaryen the second of his name was dead!

None of the people kneeling around the bloody and lifeless King said any word after the screams of said King had finally stopped but there was no silence anyhow because the upside down turned Lord Lannister was still snarling and shouting, no roaring his defiance while swinging wildly.

Slowly, his gaze still upon the dead King, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard stood up. He stretched himself to his full height, took off his bloodsoaked Cape and drabbed it carefully over the King's body. He turned around and stepped away, just three steps and then he was by the side of the tortured Lion, his gloved left fist grabbed brutally the throat of the downhanging Lord Lannister. Tywin Lannister was not able anymore to snarl and roar his defiance, for now he was busy gasping for air. Both of his hands came up and desperately tried to loosen the grip of the White Knights fist around his neck but the Lord Commander was not letting go.

The other Kingsguard moved to stand by the side of his fellow Knight and spoke.

"Lord Commander, it is too late for us now to handle the murderer of King Aerys. Our new King will have to decide how this traitor should pay for his Crime. For now we should at first see to it that the body of His Grace is brought from this dirty cell and is cleaned and is handled honorable."

The Lord Commander Hightower was still squeezing the Lannister's neck but slowly his grip became lighter and finally he opened his fist fully and stepped away from the now barely even more lucid Tywin Lannister.

The White Bull gave order to the two roughlooking men, both standing a little bit further back, to quickly bring a stretcher for the Royal corpse and the men left the room immediately.

The two still kneeling servants were carefully bedding the corpse of Aerys into the linen cloths and Hother was scrambled to stand up in the meantime. He always hated kneeling. His eyes carefully went over to the tortured Lion.

The two Kingsguard Knights were quietly talking with each other and seemed to have come to a agreement for both were nodding to each other. The roughlooking men came back into the cell, bringing a stretcher with them and setting it down near the Royal corpse. Carefully they, together with the servants laid down the dead Kings body on the stretcher, stood up and then carried the Aerys Targaryen out of the room. The Kingsguards followed them outside and the Lord Commander stopped then, barely outside of the door and his head turned back to the Maester.

"Maester you will see to it that the murderer of the King does not die until the new King is ready to judge this traitor. A servant will bring you all of the things that you require." After he said that, he turned away and followed the bier while the other Kingsguard closed the door.

Maester Hother was now alone with Tywin Lannister. The Lion Lord had finally stopped his desperate gasping for air and was breathing as calmly and deeply as he could in his current position and as his tortured body allowed.

Hother was looking around for anything to change the position of the hanging Lord, so that he may breath easier and it would be possible to treat the wounds, at least some of them.

He was interrupted by the opening of the door. Two servants stepped inside, carrying a small table between them and one was also carrying a small bundle hanging from his shoulder. Without saying anything these servants brought down the table to where Lord Tywin was hanging, tugged part of the free upper body of the Lannister Lord onto it, all the while ignoring the now only weak struggling and then turned to Maester Hother. The one wearing the bundle shoved it into the Maesters hands and then both servants left the room, without ever having muttered even one word. The door closed behind them.

Hother stepped to Tywin Lannisters side and looked down. The golden Lion Lord was not golden anymore but bloodied and whipped, bruised and humiliated but he still managed to look slightly arrogant and though he was surely in a lot of pain, he also did not look broken. If Hother had to describe the Lord right now, he would have to say that, even though he showed clearly the signs of pain, he also looked satisfied, like a Lion who was licking his muzzle after a successful hunt.

........

"Lord Lannister, can you tell me where you are feeling the most pain, so that i will knew where to start?" Hother asked.

Tywin Lannister, the man that just a short time ago killed his King by tearing out his throat with his teeth, looked momentarily confused by that question. He shuddered a bit but then started to speak, his Voice hoarse.

" Help me to lay better on this damned table and then open the damned chains, so that my legs can be lowered. After that is done and only then, i might let you treat my wounds."

Trust the Lion to be proud and arrogantly commanding even in his current position, was Hother's first thought. But he was also impressed, this Lord was not one who would beg for anything it seems. The Maester went over to where the end of the chains were fastened on a couple of Iron Rings which were hanging from the Wall. They were secured with heavy locks and so there was no way to free the Lannister Lord.

Tywin looked frustrated when Hother told him that but only for a short moment. Then his arrogance slipped slightly away and he bid the maester to help him to arrange himself better on the table. Maester Hother opened the bundle he had received and found a few small pieces of cloth, surely meant to be used to wrap the wounds but they were much too small for Tywin Lannister had received way more injuries than at first could be seen. Non the less, the Maester carefully started to wipe of blood from the stomach and the chest with one of the small pieces of cloth, so that he could at least inspect the gashes there.

It was a frustrating work, a dry cloth was just not effective enough to clean the skin but there was nothing, not even one drop of Water to be found in this Cell that Hother could use for better cleaning. Lord Tywin seemed to force himself to stay silent through it, only sometimes he hissed nearly inaudible, mainly when Hother was wiping the flesh of his stomach clean. Finally enough of the blood and grime was gone from the skin so that the lacerations could be seen. The Maester was impressed that Lannister managed to stay so quite through all that, for there were numerous shallow but also deep gashes to be found on his belly and his chest. Maester Hother just wanted to start to cover the deeper ones with the bigger pieces of cloth when all of sudden the Lion Lord stopped his hands and started to speak.

"Don't bother with the front, they worked on my back thrice as much."

He looked angry for having to admit that detail but also seemed desperate enough to give up his prideful silence. Maester Hother was angry enough about receiving that particular information later than he should, that he shouted rather than speak quietly.

"Lord Lannister why didn't you say so when you were laid down on the table, this must have hurt badly with an torn open back and it makes all wounds there worse too."

The Lion Lord looked blankly into Hothers eyes, pressed his bloodied lips together, opened them again then and answered with annoyance clearly to hear.

" Do you really think Maester, that the two servants that laid me down on this table did not had precise orders of how to do so? I am meant to survive long enough to be judged by the dreamfilled and thus foolheaded boy that just became the new King on the Iron Throne, with my helpful assistance of course. But my survival unto the day of my trials won't be gentle on me, the Commander of the Kingsguard will see to that. I know him long enough to be assured of that fact."

Maester Hother snorted lightly while hearing that, yes that he could believe, the Hightower Knight certainly hadn't looked like someone that would forgive what he would see as an slight on his honor. And what bigger hit could there be on the honor of a Kingsguard than not be able to protect its King from being hurt or like now, from having torn his throat apart by a shackeld prisoner. Hother smirked lightly, he would have actually loved to see that moment with his own eyes but then he looked over to the door, made sure that it was closed and then tugged up again the left part of his long grey robe, opened the little pouch that was bound to his thigh and took out the last two tiny bottles that he kept there. The pouch was now empty but Hother closed it carefully non the less, he would need to refill his depot there and it was better to make sure that the pouch was tied securely to his leg. Then he corrected the folds of his robe and stepped even closer than before to the Lannisters side. The Maester opened both tiny bottles and bid the Lion Lord to swallow their content.

Tywin Lannister looked warily at the tiny bottles but didn't utter any protest when the first bottle touched his lips. He swallowed and repeated that also with the second one. A grimace that was likely his version of a smile was to see on his features while he asked Hother sardonically.

" And now Maester, what will happen? Did you poison me to quicken my end or did you do it to make it more painful?"

Hother answered with the same condescending tone in his Voice that Lord Lannister would need to wait for a moment, right now there were more important things to do, before he took the smallest piece of cloth, grabbed both tiny bottles with it and then went over to the nearest Wall to grind them to dust against the stones.

After he finished that, he went back to the man still laying on the table. Lord Tywin looked at him curiously like he had never seen anyone like him before.

Hother looked back without any visible emotion and then opened his mouth to ask. "Do you still feel much pain my Lord, for i now want to turn you onto your chest, so that i will be able to treat your back."

The Lannister Lord answered that he felt nearly nothing and then tried to help as much as he could with himself being turned around on his upper body while still being bound by his legs. Finally the Lion was laying on his belly and Hother could see his back. He grimaced, for while it did not looked as bad as that of the girl in the first cell, the Lion Lords one was bad enough.  
It was impossible to count the gashes that were now bleeding again, opened up again by the effort of turning around. Some of the lacerations were so deep that the bones were showing.

In the end it didn't matter, Hother started to care to them and after a long time of careful but thorough cleaning, were the Lannister Lord thankfully stayed quiet, he bound them with his meagre stash of cloth. He was barely finished when the door opened.

Maester Hother looked to the now open door. The men standing there were not looking like Kingsguards nor like the Goldcloaks or any servants. The men that now came into the cell were wearing the colors of the Housegard of Lord Lannister.


	3. Chapter 3

The men that now came into the room were wearing the colors of the Housegard of Lord Lannister. After the first six so dressed men stepped into the cell, a young golden haired man who was dressed as a sailor followed them. Even though he was dressed so simple , he had the bearing of an Nobleman and the redclothed Guardsmen gave respectfully way for him when he hurried over to where Lord Lannister and Maester Hother were.

"Tywin, what has been done to you brother?" asked the young man, while his handsome face looked horrified over the tortured Lion Lord.

"What does it look like Gerion? Aerys lost his mind and i was forced here by the Kingsguard, then i was whipped bloody. Find some way to open these damned chains, so that i can finally get my legs down."

Lord Tywin actually managed to sound like his situation was only an annoyance to him and not like he was hurt as much as he was in reality. The younger man, who Hother now knew to be the brother of Tywin Lannister, looked over to where the chains were attached and gave order to look through the pockets of the corpses of the prison guards outside of the cell. One of the Lannister Guardsmen stepped close to his Lord and handed a knapsack over to Hother. The Maester opened it and found inside a red silken shirt and simple black trousers made from cotton. Meanwhile a happy shout was to hear from outside of the cell. Another guard hurried inside, a klimpering ring of keys in his hands and he went over to where the chains were attached. Already the third key opened the heavy lockets and the chains that had forced Lord Tywin to stay for so long into his upside down position, were finally lowered.

The Lion Lord controlled himself to not show any distress but Hother was so near to him that he could hear the heavy and pained groans non the less. Young Lord Gerion had sent two of the Guards from the room to search for water but Hother also asked for more cloth to be found and for bandages too. From outside there were loud screams to hear and the younger Lannister frowned when he heard them.

Finally the legs of Tywin Lannister were freed from the last chain and the now freed Lord stumbled when he tried to stand and nearly fell down if not for Hother to get a quick hold of him and help him to carefully sit down on the table. The maester then grabbed the trousers from the knapsack and helped the Lion Lord to get his legs into it. The younger Lannister Lord was irritated by Hothers actions and told him so.

"You told my men that they should search for water and things with which you could take care of my brother and now you are suddenly forcing him to wear clothing without care for his wounds. What is the reason for this madness?"

Maester Hother asked the younger Lion Lord to take hold of his older brother and when Gerion did, the Maester carefully pulled the older brother from his sitting position, quickly stabilized him and then tugged the trousers up over the bloodied buttocks of Lord Tywin. Hother then gave signal to the younger Lannister and together they heaved the bloodied but now at least halfway clothed body of Tywin Lannister back into a sitting position upon the table. Only after that was done Hother gave a reseaning for these actions.

"Young Lord, i simply thought that a man as proud as your brother is, would feel surely better when the most intimate areas of his body are covered. You will certainly agree with my reasons, won't you?

Hothers tone was not particularly respectful and that at least seemed to have brought out a smile on the young Lords lips. He just opened his mouth to give an answer when the two men that had been sent out to search for water and bandages, came running back into the cell. They looked panicked and were both shouting at the same time that more Guards were standing on top of the top floor of the black cells, just waiting for their officers to finish instructing them befor they will surely coming down the stairs, they estimated that they were at least sixty Goldcloaks strong.

"How many guards do you have with you Gerion?"asked the older Lannister Lord.

"Only those with which i was on the ship back from my tour in Essos and those of your own men who we had found in one of the City prisons, all together we were thirty men when we managed to get here but then we had to kill the prison guards and while we killed at least twenty-five of them, we also lost eight of our own people." Gerion Lannister was clearly unhappy to admit to these small numbers.

Hother sighed deeply. This damn day was getting evermore worse but he would be damned if he would get slaughtered here at this day. He looked over to still panting guards and asked them where exactly the Goldcloaks were coming down. After receiving the answer, he looked over to Lord Tywin and asked him if he would be able to stand. Tywin tried it, after slidding from the table but his legs didn't agree with his wishes. Maester Hother grabbed both of the Lion Lord's arms, turned around and then tugged both arms up and over his shoulders. He bid the Lannister Lord to cross his arms in front of Hothers own chest and then hoisted the wounded Lord carefully up by his too weak legs. Tywin Lannister was now carried piggyback by the Maester.

Hother asked all of the now completly flummoxed looking Lannister men and their young Lord to follow him. He sighed heavily but besides that he was absolutely calm while he was leaving the cell in which Aerys Targaryen lost his life. Maester Hother then turned around the corner from where he came nearly three hours ago and then put his foot on the first of the steps of the upwards stairs. The clearly bewildered guards followed him up on his way.

"What are you doing Maester, my guards just told us that the Goldcloaks are coming down the stairs and you are bringing me to them even sooner." hissed the Lannister Lord that he was carrying.

But Hother didn't bother to answer, he only concentrated keeping his footing while hurrying upstairs with the Lion on his back.

Finally he reached the next upper level and went to the room into which he was first shoved by the White Bull, now already many hours ago. Nothing had changed inside the room. The tortured creature that was once a really pretty girl was still hanging there by broken arms and was now again moaning full of pain.

The Maester sighed. Luckily the chair in which the King had sat all these hours ago was still standing there and Hother managed to carefully let the Lion Lord glide from his back into the Chair. The Redclothed Guards and the younger Lord Lannister were all entering the room but it promised to be a tight fit to get all inside. Hother was standing by the door and after no more redguards were standing outside, he closed the door with the help of some of the guards, till only a small gap remained.  
The Maester then grumbled while he tore open his grey robe and opened a long pouch that was sewed on the inside of his Robe, he took from this pouch five small and flat glassbottles and hurled them through the gap, as far away as he could and then he quickly closed the door for real.

Lots of irritated faces looked at him. Hother didn't care though, for he forced his way through the lot of the Guards. He stopped only when he was standing in front of the tortured girl, looked into the ruin of her face and then asked her if she wanted to be finally free. She nodded yes and before anyone could even understand what happened, he stepped behind her, grabbed her by the burned head , locked the bones of her neck and then broke it. She was dead and at least at peace and free from further pain.

He looked away from her and to the tightly packed standing men. Everyone looked at him openmouthed, only Tywin Lannister himself, sitting nearby in the chair looked discontent. Hother allowed himself a short moment in which he remembered the girls gleeful words spilling out of the ruined mouth. Her pride at having been able to take the Lion Lord down with her tortured "confession".

...........  
"Your stupidity trapped us here Maester, so if you have any inclination to tell me and my men of your great plan of how we leave this cell here and escape from death, now would be the time for it."

Hother thought that the Lion Lord actually managed to sound equal parts annoyed and commanding while he spoke those words. He was right of course, they all were trapped in this room but it would have been the same in the one below. Here at least they were one floor higher up and thus also nearer to the exit of this damn prison. The Maester sighed heavily and thought that it was amazing that a day that had begun with a pleasant morning of doing some shopping for food and other things, could end in an evening of treating and carrying bloodied Lion Lords and planning their escape while fearing for his own life. The Lannister's men were all disgruntled after the words of their Lord but also nervous too. Their grumbling grew louder and louder.

Hother knew that he had to try and calm down the Westerlanders as best as he could in this situation if he wanted to leave this room alive. Already a couple of the guards were fingering their weapons and Hother could easily read on their faces that they were blaming him , the Maester, for their predicament, especially after the words of their Lord. Maester Hother walked over to the sitting Lord of the Westerlands and bowed down so that both their heads were on the same height. He bid one of the guards who was holding a light to come closer and the Redcloak did so after a short nod from Lord Lannister.

The Maester examined the eyes of Lord Tywin, tugged down carefully the lids to see the color and width, then took the left arm of the sitting Lord and touched the pulse points with two fingers. He counted for a short while, completely ignoring the ever more restless growing Guardsmen all around him and their Lord. Finally Hother nodded, straightened himself and after a short last look into the face of the Lion Lord, who was cleary curious but also too proud to ask for explanation, he opened his mouth to speak.

"We will have to negotiate for a fair judgement by the new King himself, maybe even a trial by combat, but till then you would accept an house arrest in the Tower of the Hand and all these men here would give up their weapons."

He had not even finished speaking, when all were screaming for his head because of his insolence. Tywin Lannister though only looked up at him and spoke only one word.

"Why?"

Hother looked down to the sitting Lion and answered. "Even if your men and your brother would really be able to kill however many men of the Guards are coming down, we all can be certain to die in the near future, for they would certainly throw even more Guards at us, so much that we would drown under them."

He looked around and saw most of redcloacked men solemnly nodding at his words. Young Lord Gerion, who had been standing at the door, came over from there and stood by his brothers side. He looked to the Maester for a few moments but then his eyes sought out the ones of his older brother. Hother actually felt sorry for the younger man who looked as if he was mostly someone who enjoyed a life of pleasure and now was not that far away from maybe loosing it. But then the young Lion straightened himself and with a look around at all Redcloaked men, he spoke confidently.

"Everyone of us willing die for you brother, if you are ordering us to fight for a way out of this prison but it would not go amiss to recognize the idea of the Maester as something that might be able to work. I am willing to go out myself and try to be brought before the King and give him our surrender as long as you are brought under House Arrest in the Tower of the Hand and your wounds are cared for. If the King is not agreeing with that, then we all will fight for your way out, we will likely die but we swore our Oaths and Lions are not afraid to fight. But on the other hand, if the King is willing to listen to me and the House Arrest is given, you might have a not too bad Chance for survival and we all with you. Maybe there would also be some possibilities to escape from the Tower as soon as you are healthy enough."

The Guardsmen had a look of astonishment on their faces after hearing what the younger Lord had said but the most surprising reaction was the one of Tywin Lannister. He chuckled. Well, it sounded more like a dry coughing but his lips were slightly turned upwards and his face had lost its scowling lines. He answered with approval clearly to hear.

"Your coming-of-age tour in Essos surly brought out the Lion in you, Gerion. Well, it seems to be the only solution besides a fight for which we are in a unfortunate situation and with too few a men to have a good chance. So, i agree that you will go out in my name and offer a truce and that i am willing to give myself over for the surly honorable judgement of our new King, praised be his name. Tell them that i am willing to stay under House Arrest, agree to have no guards with me nor anymore than one servant and this Maester here. He will see to my wounds that i received while being tortured by the former King, which was a breach of conduct between King and Lord by the way and that my violent behavior to King Aerys was something that happened in a moment of torture and so it was not my fault. But you will tell them that i am willing to be judged for it non the less, if only after a few days of healing to be presentable again. Go then and take four of your men with you."

Hother seriously considerd a visit to Last Hearth if he would survive this. Life was so much more simple there.

Non the less he took a step forward and bent again to the Lord of Casterly Rock.

" Send me with your brother, i will tell the King of how gruesome your wounds are and that you need immediate help and to leave the undergrounds of the prison or you will not survive this night. If he wants to make an example out of you, he would need you alive for that example to be terrifying enough, so that it would surely be in his interest to keep you alive.

If he is, hopefully, fair enough to offer you a chance for a trial by combat, he would also surely be fair enough to let your body be healed enough for that to take place and thus it should not be too hard to make him accept your offer to agree to House arrest.

If he is like his sire though, trying to slaughter everyone he is not agreeing with, i am at least by your brothers side and may be able to help him to escape safely."

And to escape myself, too. But that was the one part of his plan that Hother only thought about but did not say aloud. Still, whatever happened here in the Red Keep, he really must find a way to stay alive and to hasten back to his abode and then to send the Ravens north. His homeland must be able to secure its borders and the banners must be called immediately for all to be able to safely prepare when another war might start because of this mess.

The Warden of the West was actually contemplating Hothers words and finally agreed with the Maester.

"The Maester is right, take him with you Gerion and let him tell what he just said here. If he is trying to lure you into a trap, kill him! If you see that the King and his men are not listening, then try to escape and bring news of what happened to me back to Keavan and then call the banners."

After all was said, young Lord Gerion gave order to four of his men to come with him and then looked over to Hother.

"Maester, are you coming now or what?"

Hother sighed deeply, opened the sewn-in pouch of his torn open robe again and took out a few more small bottles. Then he closed his robe as good as he could and bound it tightly again with the rope that served as belt.

Everyone looked at him curiously, even the Lord of Casterly Rock. Surely they were wondering what was in the bottles. Not that he would tell, of course. Let them wonder, he would use every small advantage that he could find.

The small group of six men now went through the tightly packed other men and one of the Household guards opened the door carefully. Two of the four guards and Lord Gerion himself were carrying small lamps and Hother followed them with the other two guards. As soon as all six had left the room, the men inside closed the door behind them.

The six were carefully going to where the stairs were and from where the could hear screaming and coughing. It was not easy to see in this hallway because of thickly wafting purple smoke that was everywhere.

"Maester, what exactly had you been throwing earlier into this hallway?" asked young Gerion.

Maester Hother though gave not clear answer and said only that it would give them just a tiny advantage to better their chances.

The six men reached the stairs and slowly made their way upwards, with each step nearer to the noise. They stopped when they reached the top level of the stairs and stared to over to the mass of soldiers, clothed in the Goldcloaks and lead, at least it looked so, by three of the White Knights.

Hother grabbed his bottles a bit tighter and readied himself for the worst. The four redclothed guards grabbed the hilts of their swords and young Lord Gerion........stepped away from them, took a couple of steps forward and then fell to his Knees before one of the White Knights.

"Your Grace, am i allowed to say that you look marvelous in White? So pure actually, this colour really suits you."

Everyone looked at the young Lion like he was crazy but the Knight before whom he knelt, took off his helmet and everyone could see the shimmering silver hair. Everyone, whether it was Goldcloak or Redcloak or a Greyrobe clothed Maester fell to their knees.

The two other White Knights each took a step forward and positioned themselves in front of their new King.

The young King himself only sighed. A small frown was to be seen on his overly young and handsome face. But it was not he who finally spoke then but instead a small build woman came from the nearest building of the left side, accompanied by two more Knights of the Kingsguard.

"Your Grace, my dear son, let young Lord Gerion speak to you. Not here though, not with so many men out for blood tonight, not when one wrong word can only mean more blood will flow."

Everyone looked over to the slight build, nearly frail-looking woman and then the young King nodded his head to his mother and agreed with her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> .

This evening might have turned out to be one of the most luckiest ones of her life but now that the night still gave way to the possibility of a bloodbath, the freshly widowed Queen Rhaella was not so sure anymore.

After she had gathered her courage earlier on and had spoken to her son in the inner Courtyard in front of all the bloodthirsty men, their own ones but also the six from the Lannister side, they all followed the order of her dear son and went to the Great Hall. Now she was standing by her son, her new Kings side, the Kingsguard in front of them as a protective Wall of armor and swords and fifteen steps away were kneeling the six men of Tywin Lannister.

Only four of the six were wearing the Red Cloaks of the Lannister Houseguard though, one was a unknown and slightly shabby looking Maester and the last one was a young man who looked like a Sailor in the clothes he was wearing but who she knows to be Tywin Lannisters youngest brother Gerion.

Rhaella frowned slightly, the last that she heard of him, mentioned that he was on his Coming-on-age tour to the various Free Cities of Essos. He must have arrived here only a really short time ago.

The freshly widowed Queen looked back to her son, he was standing there in the white armor of the Kingsguard, she wondered for a moment why he had ordered this specific armor made for himself but then she was back to being just happy, seeing him standing on the steps of the Iron Throne. This was the moment that she ever wished for, Aerys finally gone and her smart and gentle son as the new King. Rhaella swore to herself to lighten every Candle that could be bought, to literally flood the Sept of Baelor in Candle light as a thank you to the Seven-that-are-one.

"Your Graces, i come here in the name of my brother Lord Tywin Lannister, who is the head of our House, the highest Lord of the Westerlands, the most loyal of servants to House Targayen and as you know also for many years loyal and reliable Hand to your father, late King Aerys. House Lannister offers its condolences to the death of Aerys Targayen, King of the seven Kingdoms. My brother is be willing to accept your Graces wisdom through a trial but bade me to make clear that he did not wanted to hurt or even kill King Aerys but that it was an accident that happened because my brother was so in pain and not thinking clearly anymore."

Young Lord Gerion looked up from where he still kneeled and actually managed to sound sincere while speaking those words.  
Rhaella could hear the angry growling that came from Lord Commander Hightower while those words were spoken. The Lord Commanders hands tightend themselves as if he was squeezing something in them.

She looked to her son. He was frowning but then he nodded. He gave the sign to stand up and the young Lannister Lord alongside with his Guardsmen and this unknown Maester went up from their knees. The Hall was quiet now, the only noise still to hear was the light growling from the Commander of the Kingsguard. The new King went down the few steps on which he was standing, he took the shoulder of old Ser Grandison and made him thus step aside. Rhaegar then stepped out of the security that the Kingsguard gave, orderd them to stay put and went down the last few stepps till he was standing just a pace away from the six Lannister men.

"Ser Gerion, your brother killed my father. He killed him in a most brutal way, unprovoked and with no regret, that is what Ser Gerold and Ser Gwayne both told me. There waits only death to punish a Lord that kills his King." The young Kings face was void of any expression while he spoke those words.

"But, as the Queen Mother reminded me earlier, when the both of us spoke, my father was not in the right of how he handeld such a high Lord as the Warden of the West. It still does not free Lord Lannister from the Crime of being a Kingslayer but it will be allowed to him to get the chance and fight for his honor in a trial by combat. He will fight after my father is entombed."

Gerion Lannister and the Guardsmen bowed to the King reluctantly after hearing those words but the Maester protested that it was way too soon for the Lord Lannister to do so. Rhaella watched her son closely and saw him interested in this shabby Maester.

"Your Grace, the Lord Lannister needs to be brought out of the cells and into clean rooms, or any chance for him to live anymore will be gone. Your father, the late King, had him tortured and whipped and many of the lacerations are open and deep enough to show the bones. His flesh was quite brutally torn away from his body and he is nearly in a delirium after the Lord Commander tried to strangle him to death. If you want to give him any chance for any kind of trial, he first need to survive."

The King looked back to the Lord Commander after hearing these words from the Maester and Ser Gerold looked proudly back to his new King, his hands still opening and closing as if they were squeezing something or someone.

Then Rhaegar looked back to her and she nodded to her son. The King turned back around and gave order for Lord Lannister to be brought over to the Tower of the Hand. Ser Gerolds hands squeezed more rapidly after hearing those words.

"Your Grace, i need medicine and bandages, clear water and wine, needles and good thread to sew the wounds. Vinegar too, to clean the wounds better. If it pleases your Grace."

The last words seemed to be spoken as an afterthought by this strange Maester and Rhaella nearly smiled while hearing this unknown shabby man sounding so demanding. She actually hoped that this Maester will manage to keep Tywin Lannister alive. For one because she really wants to thank dear Joanna's widower for this great service that he did to Rhaegar and herself. The other reason was, as she desperately tried earlier to make clear to her dear son, that if Tywin died here because of the wounds that he received through torture before he himself commited any crime against House Targaryen, all the other high Lords would likely lose all trust in the honor of their kingly House. If the Warden of the West would do them the unpleasure and die from the earlier received torture wounds, everyone would have the right to see it as fault of the Iron Throne.

Queen Mother Rhaella shuddered at that thought. Hopefully this strange Maester was good in his healing art. She finally allowed herself a small smile and closed her eyes for a short moment. Oh whatever happend, at least Aerys was finally dead.

Hother was lead to the now empty quarters of the late Grand Maester Pycelle. Six Goldcloaks were accompanying him to make sure that he neither escaped nor tried anything else. Hother sighed quietly. He had managed to store the small bottles away in a sewn-in little pouch in his left sleeve but he really needed to store them in there correct place so that they could not break. It would have to wait though for there were to many eyes on him right now.

He really hoped that the Lannister Lord was not brought over by the Kingsguard themselves, at least not by the Lord Commander. Lord Lannisters wounds were bad enough, it wouldn't do for him to be carried by someone that tried to kill him earlier on.

After the order of the new King was spoken, young Gerion Lannister was also lead away but by one of the Kingsguards. Ser Barristan Selmy was ordered by the Lord Commander to bring the youngest brother of Tywin Lannister to a place where no one could enter and no one could leave without order of the King. Ser Barristan seemed to know which the Lord Commander meant and after he received a nod by the King, he made the young Lannister following him. The four Guardsmen were ordered by the King himself to bring the Warden of the West to the Tower of the Hand.

One of the Guardsmen shouted that they would need the order from young Lord Gerion but the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard answered them that they had heard the agreement of the King for Tywin Lannister to be treated well in the Tower of the Hand.

The Guardsmen had to put their trust into the new King if they wanted Lord Tywin to survive. The oldest Redcloak nodded and all four men got the sign to leave by the King. They turned around and went out of the Hall, accompanied by forty Goldcloaks and the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

They arrived a short while later back at the door behind which twenty-one more Guardsmen and the Lord Lannister were.  
The oldest Redcloak shouted the orders of the King through the closed door. Nothing happened. He shouted that Lord Gerion was brought to a secured place. It was still silent behind the door. Just as he wanted to shout again the orders of the King, the door started to open. The Household Guard of Tywin Lannister were cramped to the sides of the room so that a narrow alleyway lead to the chair in which the Lion Lord sat slightly slumping.

The four Guardsmen tried to go to their Lord but instead the Lord Commander stepped forward and behind came a couple of Goldcloaks. The White Bull stopped in front of the chair and then bent down. His gloved left hand slightly touched the right cheek of the wounded Lion Lord and Tywin Lannister scowled at the unwanted intimacy of the touch. He lifted he right hand, cleary that alone already was costing him strength that he didn't had anymore, to slap the hand of the White Knight away from his face.

Ser Hightower allowed that but with a smirk on his face. Then he told the room and all that were inside the order of the King. The Lannister Guards looked uncomfortable after hearing that Gerion Lannister was unreachable. Lord Tywin nodded to himself.  
It was unavoidable that he had to trust the King for the moment. He hated the thought of doing so but he couldn't even breath anymore without the urge to scream from the pain that had come back. The medicine that the Maester had given him hours ago, had ceased to work. He felt himself becoming weaker and weaker.

And so, Tywin Lannister gave order to his Guards to stand back while a couple of Goldcloaks brought a stretcher on which he then laid down. The two Goldcloaks followed the White Knight out of the room, the Lion Lord carried by them and after that happened, the Redcloaks were separated in groups of five and brought to different cells.  
None of the Lannister Guards liked that but there were double as much Goldcloaks as them and both their Lords were now hostages.

Lord Lannister was brought into the Tower of the Hand, his former quarters. There were still the signs of the fight to be seen from a couple of days ago, the time when Aerys had him arrested. The fight had been a short but brutal one. Two of Tywins best Guards had lost their lives along with ten Goldcloaks and Lord Lannister himself even managed to hurt one of the Kingsguards. So, the rooms were in a slight disarray and only the dead bodys and the broken furniture was gone. The former Hand was brought to his bedroom. He inhaled deeply before pushing himself up on the stretcher. The Goldcloaks made no offer to help him and even if they might have, they wouldn't had the Chance to do so.

The Lord Commander sent them away and ordered them to close the door of the bedroom behind them. He crouched down beside the stretcher, his head now not far away from the one of the hurt Lion Lord who barely managed to sit up on the stretcher. He smirked again but then it turned to a nearly gentle and understanding smile. Ser Gerold put his right hand on Tywin Lannisters chest and pushed him back down. His smile widened when the hurting man couldn't stop the groan of pain.

The Lord Commander bent down even more, not caring that his armor was scrapping against the unbound parts of the Lannisters wounded chest. He looked into Tywins sweaty face, the Hazel eyes looked back at him feverish and painfilled but also full of hate. The White Knight touched the brows of the Lannister Lord with his left hand, nearly gentle was the touch, while at the same time he put most of his weight onto the wounded chest and made the Lion Lord gasp desperately for air and try at the same time to swallow the signs of pain.

The white gloved hand slipped from the brows down to the neck. Ser Gerold chuckled.

"Just a minute more and you would have followed the King to death. Do you know that, Lion? But you deserve more pain and that death would have been too easy for you. Mayhaps i should just slowly crush your chest in. That would be so easy to declare an accident. You just stumbled while getting up from the stretcher and then you had fallen so unlucky that you crushed on a chair or a table and since you were to weak to hold yourself up, you broke unfortunately a couple of your ribs. So easy to explain.  
But no, i will have to kill you in the trial by combat to regain my honor. The honor that you had cost me when you killed my King."

After he spoke those words, the Lord Commander let go of the wounded Lion and pushed himself up so that he was standing again. He then bent down and tugged the Lannister Lord in his arms, straightened himself and then went the few steps with the burden in his arms till he reached the bed. Rather carefully he then laid down the wounded man on the bed. His right hand slightly slapped the cheeks of the helpless man and the White Bull bent down again.

"Get well soon, for i have to revenge my King. Get well soon, so that you can die by my sword."

The Lord Commander straightened himself again after he spoke those words and then left the room.

......................................................................

For all of you that might be wondering about the timespan in which this all is happening:

Chapter 1 starts about eight days after baby Prince Jaehaerys dies 274. The mistress was tortured for days along with her family and Pycelle is brought to be tortured two days ago.

Tywin was brought to black cells to be tortured two days ago before he made the lucky bite., two days after Pycelle. It is now ten days ago that the baby Prince died.

Then the closely told events starts about early afternoon and everything that is happening in all the Chapters up to this Chapter 4 is in the time from early afternoon, when Hother is brought to the Red Keep, to Aerys death around the early evening to now Tywin being brought back to the Tower of the Hand around midnight.

Aerys is barely dead for five hours and that is also the reason why Gerold is slightly unhinged and a little bit over the top villainy.

He is surely normally such a nice guy.


	5. Chapter 5

The rooms of Grand Maester Pycelle were a Dissapointment. There were few things left on the shelves that could be used to treat large wounds. A couple of clean bandages in a box, good thread and clean looking needles in a silk bag. No sleepwine, no milk-of-the-poppy though. Nothing. It all was spilled on the ground and all bottles were broken.

If only he could get to his own stuff. His stockage was full of the known and quite a lot rather unknown medicines but i seemed that there was no way to get to his abode. He sighed and then turned around to the Goldcloaks that were guarding him.

"Is there any other room in which the late Grand Maester used to store medicine?"

All six men looked at him suspiciously after he asked. Finally after a few moments, one nodded and bade Hother to follow him. The other five followed behind the Maester who was just carrying the few usable utensils.

It was a short walk to the Guesthouse which was on the right side from the first inner Courtyard. The Goldcloak lead Hother to a room on the backside of second floor.  
The Guard gave order to another Guard to bring a lantern and then opened the door. The room was absolutely dark even though it was a moonlit night, for it had no window.

The lantern was brought forward and the Guard stepped inside and Hother followed.  
The Maester's dissatisfied face lightend up while seeing the well stocked shelves. Fourty bottles of dreamwine, quite a couple of bottles of milk-of-the-poppy and other useful medicine was there. A couple of bottles of clear vinegar and a couple of bags of strongwine which could be cooked and thus used to clean the utensils. All of this was not as good as his own stuff but it couldn't be helped. Better this all than nothing.

Hother grabbed as much of the poppy bottles and the strongwine as he could and each of the Guards grabbed a couple of bottles of the Vinegar and the Sleepwine after the first Guard said so. The seven men then left the Guesthouse, went from the first Courtyard again to the second one and from there to the Tower of the Hand.

Just as they wanted to step inside, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard came out. He was smiling slightly but then he looked at Hother and the utensils and bottles and he looked to the Guards and saw that they were carrying bottles too and his smiling turned to scowling. He was still standing in the door and there was no way to get by him. Then suddenly, the Lord Commander straightened himself and stepped away from the door. He went away to the Great Hall without looking back.

Hother hurried inside, the Guards were showing him to the bedroom of Lord Lannister. One of the Guards opened the door to the bedroom and one-by-one the Guards stepped inside, laid down whatever they were carrying and then stepped outside. The last one to enter the room was Hother and he too laid down the stuff he carried. A servant came inside, carrying two buckets of steaming water and another one was carrying a big bowl. As soon as they had sat that down, both the servants left the room again. The Guards closed the door behind them and Hother was alone with Tywin Lannister.

He looked over to man on the bed and then grabbed one of the bottles with milk-of-the-poppy.

"It is not as good as what i gave you earlier but it should numb the worst of the pain a bit." Hother said while holding the bottle to the Lion Lords mouth.

Tywin Lannister swallowed nearly greedily and when it became a danger for him to choke, Hother held the hurt man back and then tilted the bottle more carefully. After a while, the bottle was empty and Lord Lannisters face lost the desperate and painfilled feature and the face looked calmer.

Hother grabbed another bottle but this was dreamwine and he allowed the Lannister Lord half of it. The Lion Lord eyes fell shut and Hother sat back down the bottle and looked then all over the wounded man. This will be a painful work to do.

Hother sighed exhausted.  
He took one of the bottles of vinegar and emptied it into the large bowl. One of the buckets of steaming water was also halfway emptied into the bowl. He opened a bag of wine and crouched beside the halfemptied bucket and then he poured the wine into the steaming rest of water. He then rolled up his sleeves, opened the sewn-in pouch and then tugged loose his rough sewn collar to get to the pouch near his chest. He opened it, stored the five small bottles back in the right places, closed the pouch and then closed the collar of his robe. Hother then rolled up both his sleeves till they were high up on his upper arms.

He bowed forward over the bucket and put his arms into the still hot water-wine mixture. Hother then cleaned his hands and lower arms as best as he could with anything to scrub them with. He rubbed his hands and arms then dry with the bit of linen cloth that was brought with the bowl.

After that was done, he got up from his crouching position and took the step back to the bed upon which Tywin Lannister laid.

Hother carefully turned the half-sleeping Lion Lord around till he laid more upon his chest and his back was turned to the Maester. The few pieces of cloth that Hother used in the cell to cover the worst wounds on the back, were all bloodied through and through. And it was nearly impossible to tug them away from the wounds, it was as if they were glued to the back.

The Maester took the linencloth that he used to dry his hands, for it was the only piece of cloth big enough for it, put it into the still hot water-vinegar in the bowl and let it soak thoroughly. He then pulled it out and laid it wet and warm as it was over Tywin Lannisters bandages. The wounded man tried to pull away, even though he was sedated.

After a few moments Hother pulled the wet cloth away and then peeled the bandages off of the wounds. After that was done, he took out one of the smaller bandages out of the box in where Pycelle had them stored, soaked the tightly rolled bandage in the vinegar-water mix too and then started to thoroughly clean the torn up back. Again and again he soaked his substitute sponge in the mix and cleaned up the back.

The fluid in the bowl was already red instead of clear and he still worked on the horrible wounded back. Hother carefully dabbed every little bit of skin clean and also tried to clean up the deep lacerations as good as he could. Tywin Lannister started shaking just a short while ago, when the Maester carefully but also with quite a bit ruthlessness, cleaned the wound edges.

The Lion stirred from his drugged sleep and nearly turned around while the Maester was still cleaning the deep lacerations. Hother had great trouble to keep his patient down without hurting him while doing so.

"You have to stay like this for a moment more, i am nearly finished with the cleaning of your back. Only a moment and then i can give you more to dull the pain, Lord Lannister."

The only answer that Hother got to his words was a shaky and labored breathing and the faintest of a nodding.

He worked his way up the last few of deep lacerations. Again and again the sponge was dipped inside the bowl where now everything looked more like watery blood than like anything else. Finally Hother sighed and leaned back to where he kept the box with bandages. The first one he took out turned bloody by his own hands which he then wiped off as best as he could in that bandage.

After that, he took out the biggest bandages that there were inside and used those to cover the back of the Lannister Lord. He padded the wounds as best as he could and laid nearly all the bandages that were there upon the back in all together three layers. Then he used the last three bandages to fix the layers, so that they stayed in their place while Hother then helped his patient to turn around on the bed.

The Maester tugged Lord Lannister a bit more to the unused side of the bed so that he didn't end up laying where it was wet and bloody from the cleaning. Then Hother grabbed the half-empty bottle of sleepwine and slightly lifted Tywin Lannisters head so he could drink.

The Lion gulped it down. He was sweating heavily and his breathing had turned into a wheezing but all in all he tried to control himself.

"Lay down. I need to clean the bowl, can you tell me where your privy is?" asked Hother.

A slight nodding and the whispered answer that it was behind the curtain on the left side and then behind the door that was there.

Hother got up, grabbed the large bowl and went to the privy. After he returned with the empty bowl, he also went with bucket of wine-water and emptied that too there.

He came back, took the full bucket and poured half of the now only slightly warm water into the bowl and poured vinegar in it too. He then poured a bag of strongwine into the bucket and used that again to clean his own hands as best as he could.

There was no bandage left which he could use to clean the wounds with but the thread and needles that Hother had found were stored in silken bags and the small bags were put together in a bigger bag. The Maester opened the bigger bag and took out one of the bags of thread and opened it so that he could take the thread out. The now empty silken bag was then soaked into the bowl and then he started to clean the front of the Lion Lord with it.

It surely was painful too but the lacerations where not that many and not as deep as on the back. Outside the night had turned to the beginning of the morning when Hother finished. Tywin Lannisters breathing had turned to such painful gasping that it was hard to hear the sound and not to feel for the man. There was nothing left to cover the wounded body with.

Hother looked around and his eyes fell upon a highly decorated cabinet. He went over, opened it and inside there were a couple of shirts of highest quality. He took one out and went back to the bed and then carefully put the shirt upon the wounded body. After that, he tugged the fixing bandages around it. It would have to do for the moment.

Hother sat back and sighed deeply. Tywin Lannisters painfilled and bloodshot eyes looked at him. The Maester could already see the fever taking hold on the Lord. The body was shaking because of the insetting infection and the eyes couldn't fixate on him completely. The breathing had turned even more labored.

There was nothing to be done with the few things that he had received here. Hother absolutely needed to go back as soon as possible to his abode. He needed to get his own materials and his own potions. If he would give the Lannister Lord now more of the Sleepwine or of the Poppy, the possibility would be high that he would never wake up again.

"You have to hold yourself together my Lord. I can't give you anything more right now or it would mean your death. Do you understand that?"

A shivering nod was his only answer.

Hother then emptied both the bowl and the bucket again, put the meagre cleaning utensils in the bucket and went to the door that led out of the bedroom to the Solar.

Three Goldcloaks were sitting inside the Solar, two of them asleep but one was awake.

It was the one that had shown Hother a couple of hours ago where the Grand Maester had part of his storage.

" Guard, i need to get more material to care for Lord Lannister's wounds if he is meant to survive till the trial. I need to get to my home down in the City and get my own stuff. My storage is full."

The Goldcloak answered him that the King had given all decisions about what was necessary to care for the former Hand over to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He had to allow anything that involved Lord Lannister to be made strong enough for the trials.

That, Hother thought to himself, had to be the shittiest bad luck possible.

He told the Guard that he would like to ask the Lord Commander then and the Goldcloak woke up one of his men and sent him to the Kingsguard Tower.

Hother stepped back inside, closed the door behind himself, went to the bed and told Tywin Lannister of this unfortunate situation.

The Lannister Lords painfilled chuckling was barely to hear but his eyes cleared and he then pressed his lips together and nodded.

Yes, Hother thought to himself, you are not giving up so easily Lion Lord. The Maester smirked slightly at the new resolve that could be seen in Tywin Lannisters bloodshot eyes.

Let the White Bull come then.


	6. Rhaella's thoughts and Rhaegar starts planning

Rhaella couldn't sleep.

She barely had slept since her little son died eleven days ago, so it was not unknown to her to be tired and exhausted nor was it something new. She always had trouble sleeping for many weeks after she lost one of her children again and she had lost so many already.

The septas that had stayed by her bed whenever Aerys didn't wish to make use of her and get her pregnant again were at least now finally gone by the new King's order. They had often enough also been quite a distraction from sleep, though they surely meant well with all the nightly prayers.

These past hours though, Rhaellas troubles to find sleep came more from the relief that her husbands death brought to her and from her growing worries that accompanied everything unfortunate that happened after that.

If only Rhaegar would have only listened to her last evening when Ser Gerold brought the news of her husbands death by Tywin Lannister. But no, Rhaegar was as courteous and considerate as he always behaved to her, listened to her words of how they should treat Tywin and then bade her to leave him for he wanted to change his clothing before he went down to the courtyard. She had left him as he wished but Ser Gerold stayed with his new King.

At first she had not thought anything about it and in the Courtyard and also later in the Great Hall, when he talked with Gerion Lannister and agreed to the unknown Maesters words and thus gave order that Tywin would be brought to his old quarter in the Tower of the Hand for treatment, she really thought that her dear son agreed with her words. Sadly then he declared the Lord Commander as the one that had the control over everything involving the Warden of the West but his death. That alone was for the King to decide. Rhaella had stared long at her son after she had heard those words and when she looked over to where the Lord Commander was standing, she felt herself growing distrustful after seeing his contented look.

She looked out of the Windows. The morning was starting beautifully, the sun already glowing softly and a couple of birds were chirping from the Gardens. If only she could enjoy this new day, this first day as a widow, to the fullest. She would like to stroll in the gardens, oversee the removal of her things and garderobe from the damned Maidenvault into which Aerys had secured her years ago. But no, there was no time for these self-satisfying thoughts for she first had to make it clear to her son that letting Ser Gerold decide about Tywin Lannister would only bring trouble.

She allowed herself for a moment to think about how nice it would have been if Joanna would be still alive and how wonderful it would be to have her back here. It was only a moment of wishful thinking though and a short while later the widowed Queen decided to get up and then she started her morning routine.

A while later, after one of her maids helped her to dress herself in a mourning dress and brought her some light things to eat, Rhaella stood up and made her way to her son's rooms. She would have to try to save Tywin from the consequences of his doing, happy as the resulting death made her, she would have to make sure that her son didn't trust the Lord Commander too much.

Rhaella thought to herself that if Ser Gerold could do as he clearly wanted to, then they would have open rebellion in the Westerlands as a result and the other Wardens and Lord Paramounts might get some ideas too.

And she had always thought that Arthur Dayne and Jon Connington were the most important people for Rhaegar, she would have never believed that her smart son would be so willing to indulge the Lord Commander of the Kings Guard.

...........................  
Rhaegar   
.....................................

He couldn't find sleep after all that happened in the last few hours and so he clothed himself and left his rooms again at the hour of the wolf, together with Arthur and Jon who had stayed in his outer rooms out of worry for him. Ser Jonothor accompanied them while they wandered to the Great Hall.

It was too soon, he would have needed more time. Damn Tywin. Why did he still had so much fight in him after father had him whipped bloody, that he actually managed to kill father. And damn father for being so stupid and being to close to a wounded man that lost all love and respect for him already.

King Rhaegar sighed. He should stop these thoughts and concentrate on the future. Tywin would soon be not important anymore. Ser Gerold would follow his orders that the unknown Maester was allowed to patch the former Hand together so that Tywin could be killed in a trial-by-combat and everything would be seen as chosen by the gods.

Great-uncle Aemon had written four weeks ago that he agreed with him, he Rhaegar himself, was the Prince that was promised.  
And now he was an unwilling King.

Rhaegar fletched his teeth for a moment. He had made plans after receiving the letter from the Wall. Already the letters had been sent to Asshai for a few Red Priests and the one egg that he had found himself in the ruins of Summerhall last year was stored away in his own rooms, waiting to be brought back to Dragonstone and there he had planned to reawake it with the Power of his blood and the God of Fire and the magic of the Asshai'i.

But now, now he could not just went away to his own fief anymore while his father amused himself with bloody torture and death. Now, with damned Aerys dead, he had to stay in the Red Keep and be King and without a Hand, he also had to rule.

Not enough time anymore to read everything about his prophesied future and not enough time anymore to train for when his one great fight would come to him. Not enough time anymore for the rituals on Dragonstone either.

King Rhaegar stepped to the Iron Throne. This was meant for him, he always knew that but he also had always thought that he himself would decide when to climb upon it and not Tywin Lannister.

The one good thought that his father has had before he had ordered the Grand Maester and later the Hand to be tortured, was that he ordered all communication out of the City and into it to be stalled. All Ravens that had tried to fly out of the City during the last five days had been shot down on order of King Aerys and whatever they carried had to be brought to the Red Keep. The same with Ravens that had flown into the City. And of course no riders or messengers were allowed to leave the City, too.

That had the welcomed effect that no one outside had known anything about what happened the last few days here.

King Rhaegar smiled slightly. That at least would make the planning for the next couple of days easier.

"Jon, you will take one hundred of the City Guard and Ser Jonothor here with you. Make yourself ready to leave in an hour and to ride to Casterly Rock. I will write a letter to Lord Lannisters family and in it the order for the Twin children of the Hand to be brought to the Court. Young Jamie will become a Cup-bearer to me and young Cersei will be a Lady in my mothers household. We will honor the family of the Hand with this."

Jon Connington looked back to him after the new King spoke those words but nodded without any word of reproof. He bowed deeply, the Kingsguard Darry at his side and then both left the Great Hall to pack all that they would need and to order the Goldcloaks that would ride with them to do the same.

Rhaegar turned to his best friend and trainingspartner. He looked at him. Loyal Arthur, truespoken and never afraid. He would become a Kingsguard, that they had both sworn to each other. Rhaegar would be King and Arthur his Guard.

Now he was King and just a day ago he had been a squiring Prince. Arthur also was only still a Squire. It would not matter for him anymore but Arthur would have to be knighted by Ser Gerold before he could send him to Sunspear. Yes, the Lord Commander would do that without any questions and Arthur was already better than most knights with his sword, nobody would say anything about an earlier than planned knighting. As soon as that was done he would send Arthur away to Sunspear with the invitation for Elia Martel to be a Lady of the widowed Queen and a prospective wife for him.

The King told his best friend to ready himself for a long day and to wear his best clothes but he gave no answer to questions or the young Dayne, he only send him away.

King Rheagar then went up the Stairs of his Throne. He stood there for a moment before he seated himself. This was part of his destiny and he would not fail it, even if it had come earlier than he had wanted.

Ser Jonothor had likely send news to his White Brothers that another one of them would be need in the Throne Hall for a tired looking Ser Gwayne came to a halt in front of the Iron Throne, bowed deeply and then took the normal position of a Kingsguard.

Rhaegar stared thoughtfully at the back of this Kingsguard. The Darrys were loyal Targaryen followers. It was always good to have them around. Ser Jonothor's brother Willem, the master-of-arms here in the Red Keep, was as loyal as any Kingsguard.

The King would send Ser Willem Darry to Riverrun with an invitation for the daughters of Lord Tully to be Ladies in waiting for his mother.  
A Kingsguard's brother and Knight of the Red Keep would work well enough to flatter the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands and to follow his Kings invitation without any thoughts.

Rhaegar leaned slightly and carefully back. He would secure his power through the children of his highest Lords. With them all as hostages in the Red Keep, nobody would dare to say anything about Tywin Lannisters Situation or anything that he as new King would have to change in the Future.

The King orderd that writing utensils would be brought to him and after he received them, he first wrote the letter that loyal and devoted Jon would bring to Casterly Rock.  
Then he wrote one for the ruling Princess of Dorne which Arthur would take with him when he would leave and another one for the prickly Lord Tully.

His fourth one would go to the newly wedded Lord Tyrell, to ask him for his younger sister to be brought to the Red Keep. Maybe as Lady in waiting for his mother, maybe as more. The Reachlords were always trying to gain Royal favor and would be surely quite fast in their answer.

Rhaegar smiled contemplative while writing the last of his letters of the morning. This one would be an invitation for the Lord Arryn to come with his heir and his fostersons. An invitation, brought by Ser Grandison of the Kingsguard would not be seen as something that needed to be questioned and it would bring him hostages from three of his highest Lords at once.

The King nodded. His people would bring the first news to the different Lords. The isolation of King's Landing during the last few days would certainly left everyone nervous and when they all will receive the news that on the Iron Throne a new King had taken his seat, there would be questions and then relief that he was more free with his favors.

Yes, it would all work out in the end. He was the Prince that was promised. He was the one that would save Westeros.

Behind the throne, the light of the morning could be seen through the windows.

From the outside of the Throne Hall the Voice if Rhaella Targaryen could be heard as she asked to be brought to her son.

Half across of the Red Keep, in the Tower of the Hand, Maester Hother now stood before the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard who was just fetched from the White Tower and tried to make him understand why he needed more medicine to keep Tywin Lannister alive.

....................................

A lone Raven sat near the crumbling chimney on the roof of a small hut, a bit away from the outer Walls of the City of King's Landing. His brothers had been shot out of the air when they tried to fly to their home. His older brother, who had come from Castle Black had been shot barely an hour ago, he had the longest way to fly for it was the most far away and he always was the latest. Now he could rest his wings forever.

Their younger brother, who had flown to Winterfell and back for just the last few months now, had flown back together with him, the oldest one, the Raven of Last Hearth and had been shot when they both where above the City a day ago.

The Bowmen had most likely not seen him or they would surely would have shot him down too and he had half crashed on a roof of a tall building. He was an old and smart Raven and used the small Chance that he saw when they all searched for his young brother to stay safe himself.

The archers had found his wingbrother barely alive, with an arrow in his wing. They broke his neck and searched his legs but there was no message on it and then they tossed him away. He had been so young.

The old Raven dared not to open his wings to escape the City till other Ravens arrived half a day later and he used that moment to fly as high as he could, so that he could not be seen anymore and then down again, a bit away from the City, to land on a tree. As soon as darkness came anew he had flown from tree to roof, always watching for arrows, rooftop to rooftop till he was not far away from the Citywall and watched with sadness as his Castle Black brother was killed and searched.

He felt so hungry now, the thirst was even worse. He was tired and his Wings burned. No soothing and gentle fingers that eased his overworked muscles. He looked from the rooftop to the City, the morning becoming brighter for the Sun climbed higher up and then he crouched low near the crumbling chimney. The Raven decided to sleep a bit more. He would need his strength.


	7. The City loves their Silver Prince and the young Dragon talks with the young Lion

The Bells began to ring in the City of King's Landing, when the sun was already high in the sky and the morning already hot.

King Aerys was dead, everyone talked about it, the Silver Prince is now King. From the wealthiest and fattest noble Lord to the well off merchants and the normal smallfolk down to the dirtiest hungry little Street urchin, everybody was happy.  
Their Silver Prince was King.  
Now the people that had disappeared during the last ten days would come home again and nobody who was a decent person would have to fear the City Guards anymore.

Their Silver Prince was King.  
Half a moon ago he had been sitting there on the Stones of the big Well and had played his harp and had sung for them till Maidens and Women and also most Men had cried because of the beauty of his Voice. He showed that he loved them and they promised themselves to cheer far louder than the Bells when he will be crowned.

Hother frowned about the happiness of the singing people while he walked through the ever increasing crowds that were celebrating in the streets. A few Gold Cloaks and Ser Gerold accompanied him though most people were non aware of that fact for the Guards and the White Bull were all wearing Brown cloaks over the civilian shirts and jerkins. Even their feet were clad in brown leather and they carried their weapons under their cloaks.

Ser Gerold looked angry. This brought a smirk to Hothers face. He could definitely understand that everybody was happy that Aerys was dead, in contrast to the Kingsguard at least, Hother himself just did not agree with the celebrating mass that now everything would be good because Rhaegar was now the new King.

The group of eight arrived at the Maesters abode and Hother opened his door. He stepped inside and was followed by the Lord Commander and two Guards.

"I have to feed my Ravens first, Lord Commander and then i will pack the medicines and what else i need."

Ser Gerold followed him upstairs to where the ten Cages were. All the Ravens to rent were there. The Lord Commander looked critically at them.

"There has sadly been developed a shortage of them right now. It seemed there is a new illness among them that causes the Ravens to fall from the Sky. Some of them were tried to be smuggled out underneath clothing by badmeaning people but since everyone going out or coming into the City was searched through, the sick beasts were found too and freed from their illness. Your Ravens here might the last ones of King's Landing. They will be safer in the Red Keep."

Ser Gerold's words sounded deliberate but Hother knew that it was spoken as a command. He nodded. It was agreeing to this or seeing his own Ravens submit to the same... Illness. Hother had heard from others that Ravens were missing, before he was brought into the damned Kings Keep a day ago. He would bet that the mysterious illness involved many archers watching the Sky.

The three that he had sent nearly eleven days ago, they surely would be back now. Or would they have already died because of the same ...illness?

The other three that were still in the hidden room above this one, how should he care for them now with this damn Kingsguard on his heels?

It couldn't be helped, he had to hope for the best now. While one Cage filled with a Raven after another was handed down the stairs to the waiting Guards, Hother went to the windows and closed the shutters under the observing eyes of the White Bull. When the last shutters were locked, the Maester used the sudden darkness in the room to tear down the hidden Bolt that hold shut the single small window of the room above.  
Now the three Ravens there would have at least the Chance to leave the room and maybe to fly away. Hopefully!

Hother then went to the stairs from which now light could be seen and directed the Lord Commander how to put his feet so that he would not fall down.

Downstairs, the room was filled with Cages and Men. Two of the Guards had managed to get a wagon and they then all worked to load up the Ravencages on it. Hother then bundled up a couple of his blankets and a couple robes and smallclothes.

He then went to his medicine storage and carefully packed bottle for bottle in boxes with straw filling. Ten of these boxes were in his storage, to be a secure place for his more hard to get stuff, if the need to place them so ever occurred as he now explained to the observing Ser Gerold.

That each of the boxes had a double bottom hiding, filled with Hothers best selection of poisons and medicines and some other nifty surprises, was something that the Maester of course didn't explain to the White Bull. There was no reason to not keep some secrets for himself, at least not in Hothers opinion.

After the boxes were filled with what Ser Gerold allowed and also the instruments, five big bags full of wound dressings and a few more utensils were packed upon the Cages, the wagon was brought back to the Red Keep with Hother and his watchdogs following it.

Let the fools here all celebrate this day away. The Maester looked around himself, the air already smelt like trouble was brewing.  
...............................

In the Red Keep

Gerion

Ser Barristan Selmy had brought him into this quarter, comfortable enough as it was, it still was a prison for Gerion Lannister could not leave it. A couple of the Kings own Household Guards were in front of the doors and the single Window could only be opened to the width of a handspan for there were strong bars on the outside of it.

Ser Gerion looked out of these Window since the moment deep at night, when he was brought into this room, he watched how the night turned to the next morning and the morning turned into a bright day.

He had opened the window and could hear the Bells that finally started to sound during the day, he could hear the faint screams of joy from the people of the Capital. How loud it must be down there in the streets, when he could hear the jubilation even this far away.

The door opened behind the young Lannister and a servant stepped inside, carrying a big Tray with two glasses and a carafe of wine and a small box on it, which he then put down on the table in the middle of the room. The Servant bowed slightly in front of Ser Gerion and then left but he was barely out of the room, when the new King stepped inside. He was followed by Ser Barristan Selmy, who then closed the door behind himself and then positioned himself against it.

King Rhaegar stopped at the table and Gerion kneeled in front of the new King. Better to be safe than sorry, he said to himself.

"Rise, Ser Gerion and seat with me. We will have to talk about the future."

Both young men sat down and Gerion looked at the King that was four years younger than he himself was, barely old enough to be even called a man, but yet he sounded so much more weary and older than Gerion himself felt.

"Your Grace, House Lannister, our brothers Kevan and Tygett, they would pay every amount of Gold for Tywin and i. They would pay also more than enough to make sure that Tywin would be healed and then Your Grace can hold Trial upon him. We would guarantee to accept any fair judgement for the head of our House but he first needs to have a Chance to be treated well enough to that he can even survive until the judgement."

The King looked disinterested in the pleading Words of the youngest Lannister brother.  
His purple eyes stared into the air behind the golden head of Gerion Lannister and the silvery strings of the Kings Hair shimmered in the light that was shining through the window. He looked nearly otherworldly or like a fine and expensive statue, thought the young Lannister.

"The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard told me that your brother had no reason, this Maester that came from the City told of how your brother acted in delusional self-defense. I knew how my father was but still, it did not give the Hand the right to kill the King, does it?" asked the young King finally.

"Nothing gives a lesser man the right kill his King, that is right your Grace but the Lords have the Right and privilege to be treated fairly by the Rulers of the Seven Kingdoms." was Gerions agreeing answer.

King Rhaegar looked into the Lions face and finally his disinterested look disappeared from his young and beautiful face and a light smile settled onto his features.

"Ser Barristan, please leave the room" said the King while he looked over his shoulder to the Kingsguard.

The White Knight protested but since the young just stared at him without any emotion, he finally bowed deeply, opened the door and left the room. The door then was closed nearly silently.

The King rose from his seat and went to the window. His hands touched the frame and he looked out of the window, his back straight and his whole body looked elegant and graceful.

Gerion felt uncomfortable by the strange way of how the young King behaved. He was more solemn than angry but then he just became King through the death of his Father not even twenty hours ago. No one spoke anything, the room was silent.

After a while the King turned around and then leaned back against the window. His purple eyes fixed on the young Lion and the solemn look of his face turned slowly into one of gentle understanding.

"Do you love your family, Ser Gerion? Do you love your oldest brother?" asked the King suddenly.

Gerion Lannister looked astonished at the King, this was not a question he would have expected.

"Yes your Grace, i believe that i can say without lying that i love my family, even Tywin, i not always like him but i love him like i love my other siblings."

The King nodded at the Lions answer, then pushed himself away from the window and crossed the room till he stood directly in front of Gerion. The young Dragon's right hand opened the box on the Tray and then pulled out a small piece of paper, a Quill and a little golden pot with red ink.

Gerion knew that inkpot, it was the one that Tywin always used. He looked up to the King and Rhaegar Targaryen met his questioning look with equanimity and a softly spoken command.

"Write what i dictate you and I will be just to your brother."

Gerion nodded dejectedly after the King had spoken and then wrote what was dictated to him.

After he finished the little letter, the King read through it once and then folded it and put it away. He himself then filled both Cups with wine, took one for himself and gave the other to Gerion Lannister.

"To Dragons and Lions and to the rebuilding of trust." said the King.

"To Dragons and Lions and the rebuilding of trust," Gerion agreed.

Both drank from their Cups. The young Lannister was rather thirsty, which made him drink down his whole glass in one big gulp. The King filled the Lions Cup anew.

Again Gerion emptied it quickly, he had not anything to drink since last night when he arrived in the room. The young Lion looked at the King and he felt that his eyelids got heavier and that the tiredness grew in his body. The King only smiled at him.

Then there was darkness.

As soon as the young crumbled to the ground, the Dragon King stepped away to the door, opened it and saw Ser Barristan still standing there with ten of the Royal Houseguards.

"Ser Barristan, please go to my mother, i want to see her in the Great Hall."

"Your Grace," the Kingsguard said irritated, "Surely one of the Houseguards could.."

"Ser Barristan, i asked you." was the cold answer of the young King.

The Kingsguard bowed to that command and left, while the King then ordered his Houseguards to bind the young Lion tightly and to make sure that he would be brought onboard of a small ship at night.

To where, the Guards asked but the King gave no answer, he only gave command that they should follow his orders.

When Rhaegar Targaryen left the room of the young Lion though, his mind wandered to the future. His plans would come to fruition, they would be fulfilled. They must be fulfilled, for he was the Prince that was promised.

Gerion Lannister would be one of the many sacrifices that must be made to fulfill the prophecy, a sad fact but a necessary one.

The Kings mind wandered to the wounded older Lion. This one soon would be no more, not because of the prophecy but because he always had been too powerful.

The Lord Commander would certainly enjoy to fulfill the King's justice.


	8. Nightmares and Days of Care

Tywin's Nightmares

He felt himself drifting through the fog, red fog filled with screams and cruel laughter. These screams filled his own mouth and the laughter tortured his ears while the fog around turned to liquid, to blood. He felt himself drowning in, he couldn't breathe anymore and he let loose of the screams in his mouth while he desperately tried to force some air into his lungs. The screams grew louder and they were not his own alone anymore but more screams. He heard women screeching and children crying and men calling helplessly for their loved ones and from everywhere there was blood flowing and he felt himself suffocating.

Nononononono.......the screams just wouldn't stop, never stopneverstopnevernever...

His lovely Joanna, his sweet wife, the most gentle and lively women and she was no more, no more, no more, no more....only this...thing ...was there. Joanna bled to death for this thing, this pestilence, this creature.....he should kill it, then surely Joanna would come back, surely she would come back to him.....  
Joanna where are you, don't leave me, i need you....Joanna JOANNA.....  
He felt tears streaming down his face, red as Joanna's blood and his lovely wife cried too, cried for this child that she died to bring upon this World.....don't cry my beloved Joanna, don't cry, i promise not to kill, not even though he killed you, don't cry, please don't cry .....

Gasp...gasping for breath he struggled helplessly awake but two strong arms were holding him carefully down, gently but also unshakable. A calm male voice, strong and without any cruelty in it was telling him to stay calm and to take deep breaths and stop moving so much for it would only hurt more. Calloused but gentle hands stroked his head and he felt himself cleaned with a soft and warm wet cloth.  
He forced himself to calm down and to listen to the other men's voice. He fell asleep again.

He was drowning again in blood and he felt it running down his throat while his teeth were tearing through flesh and crashed into bones. He was the Lion and he was hunting but as fast as he tried to run, he wasn't able to leave from where he was still drowned by blood. His front paws clawed at the ground and he tried to get his hind paws to do the same but the legs were bound and his paws felt shredded. Pain shot through him and the moment of triumph turned to bitterness while his pelt was torn away by thorns and talons of dragons that were circling around him like a pack of mangy streetdogs. He tried to swallow the meat that was still in his muzzle but it turned to glowing ashes and burned the soft tissue inside and hurt him badly. The dragons attacked him and he desperately tried to hurt them with his front claws and to get his hind legs free at the same time.

The dragons drew so close around him that he could feel their scales on his torn pelt and they all started at the same time to spew fire...

Aaaahhhh... gasp...hhhhhh.....aaaaa..hhhh...gasp...

Hother's PoV

His patient was having a nightmare again after being barely awake a few hours ago and being forced to swallow a large Cup of Sleepwine then. Hother raised himself from his uncomfortable chair near Tywin Lannisters bed and bowed over the heavily sweating and shaking Lion Lord. He felt the temperature on the clammy forehead and then started to clean away the cold sweat that was clinging to the head and the whole body of the Lannister Lord. He also unwrapped the thick cloth that he had wound earlier around the nether regions of his patient and then cleaned the helpless man of his waste and urine. The Maester then washed the nether regions with warm soapy water from a bystanding bucket . After all that was done, Hother grabbed a new thick sheet and carefully rolled it under his patient from one side while he tugged away the used and filthy and wet one from the other side.

The Maester dumped the used and filthy cloth into an empty bucket and went to the bystanding washing table, where he scrubbed his hands and arms first with soap made from ash and then with a hot vinegar and water mix.

Since finally the bed under Lord Tywin and the Lord himself were clean enough, same as the Maester himself, Hother then could once again start to unwrap the numerous wounds, cleanse them and care for them.

He unrolled one of his scrubbed leather blankets under his patient and then stepped away to the near table upon which a big bowl was laying, filled an with already cooked mixture of Strongwine and Honey. Hother put a couple of soft pieces of cloth in it, so they would be soaked full and then went over to the bed again with a small bowl with boiled water in it.

He put a small sheet in the waterbowl and after it was thoroughly wet he put the sheet upon the wrapped back of his patient. The wrappings which stuck and dried entirely on the blooded back, were now easier to get off after they were wet again.

Hother tugged the wet bindings carefully from the back and inspected the wounds.

For six days now he was caring for the wounded and feverish Lion Lord and where at first the many deep and horrible looking lacerations made him unsure if the former Hand would survive all this, now Hother felt secure to say that Tywin Lannister was a damn hard to kill man and was on a hopeful way to recovery.

Well, Hother thought to himself, at least till the entombment of Aerys Targayen was done and the new King would make true to his word and force the Lion Lord to fight in a trial by combat.

One week would it be tomorrow since the older dragon died through the Lion's bite, yesterday the young King himself put the torch to his father's already stinking corpse and announced in the same ceremony that the ashes of Aerys would be entombed at the next New Moon.

Six days away from now was the time for that event and after the entombment, the King ordered that the following morning would be when the murderer of his Father would have his trial by combat. Hother sighed deeply, no way in all seven hells would he get Tywin Lannister strong and healthy enough to fight the damn Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He forced himself to concentrate on his task at hand, the care for the Lion's wounds.

Some of the deeper lacerations, not the ones down to the bones of the ribs but the second worst at least were stitched close since the last change of wound dressing. They looked good, near as well healing as the most shallow wounds.

The six deepest wounds, the ones that reached the ribs, were still seeping blood and a bit of pus, no matter how careful Hother was with the care for them. On two of them he now put down two soft pieces of the soaked cloth, on two other ones only a bit of boiled honey and on the two last ones he put two freshly cleaned pieces of fat but dried cod skin.

He then cleaned everything with the boiled mixture of the honey and Strongwine and wrapped the Lion's back anew. Hother then carefully turned his patient around and took care of the front wounds the same way, though they were less numerous and none was as deep as the ones on the back.

Tywin Lannister groaned through the whole procedure but didn't cry out anymore or tried to escape as he did during earlier treatments. Maybe he was still exhausted from the nightmares that had kept him and Hother himself from finding any real and restful sleep during the last couple of days.

Hother was barely finished with his care for the Lion Lord and had just rolled up the leather sheet that he used as slipcover over the clean sheets, when the door to the Lion's bedroom opened and Hother sighed with annoyance after seeing who entered the room.


	9. Letters and reactions

Hothers Ravens, which he had to give over to the new King at the day after Aerys death, were quickly put to good use by Rhaegar Targayen, for he had many letters to send.  
.......................................................  
...........................................................

Maester, i have sent you a Lannister to be kept secure and out of sight till the time for the ceremonies had arrived.  
Furthermore i have need of you here with me. Do not stall but instead come as soon as you can.

R.

...........  
Maester Marwyn, who was staying on Dragonstone after he had received a personal invitation by the then Prince Rhaegar, to write down his experiences in the near and far East and to discuss many things with said Prince, looked from the letter to the bound young man laying at his feet.  
He gave order to bring the prisoner into the most secure cell and then he followed his benefactors command.

................................................................

To the Warden of the East, Defender of the Vale, Lord of the Eyrie and Keeper of the Gates of the Moon

Most honored Lord Arryn,

with great sorrow in my heart i write you this letter.  
My dearest Mother and i have lost the head of our House and all of the Seven Kingdoms have lost one of their most promising Kings ever.

My honored and beloved Father, King Aerys the second of his name has lost his live through a most brutal and unforgivable assault by his own most trusted advisor, his own Hand, Lord Tywin Lannister.

I urge you to come to King's Landing as soon as you can and i send Ser Harlan Grandison of my father's Kingsguard on the next ship to Gulltown, where i hope that you will meet him then.  
Ser Grandison enjoys my full confidence and shall be your honor Guard on your way to King's Landing.

I would like to meet also your heir and your fostersons, for it is too long since i last saw Cousin Steffon's oldest boy.

I remember that he was quite lively when he accompanied his Father, who had visited my beloved Mother before Robert was sent to you.

My dearest Mother would welcome your heir and your fostersons with a sad but loving heart and the boys would surely help her greatly to ease her pain about her husbands death.

I hope that you might arrive around the time of the New Moon, it will be then that my honored fathers remains will be entombed.

After that sad duty will be done, i will need to talk with you most urgently.

I have full trust in your legendary and most admirable honor that this letter will be kept between us.

In the spirit of deep friendship that our Houses share....  
Rhaegar Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms  
.......................  
Lord Jon Arryn stared at the letter and sighed deeply. What happened that Tywin Lannister of all people could forget himself like that. Never had Lord Arryn met a more proud and self-confident and controlled young Lord than Tywin Lannister. And he should loose so much of his ironhard control and attack the King?  
On the other hand though, there were rumors the the old friends didn't got along anymore, so who knows what happened exactly. Lord Arryn decided that he would find out the truth in King's Landing.

......................................................................................

To the Warden of the South,Lord Paramount of the Mander, Defender of the Marches, High Marshall of the Reach and Lord of Highgarden

Most honored Lord Tyrell,

with great sorrow in my heart i write you this letter.  
My dearest Mother and i have lost the head of our House and all of the Seven Kingdoms have lost one of their most promising Kings ever.

My honored and beloved Father, King Aerys the second of his name has lost his live in a tragic accident and after the honors of our ancient ways were given to him and he will be entombed at the New Moon, we all will have to find the new Will to go own with this life and our duty.

I would like to invite you thus and of course the whole of your most prestigious family and most honorable Lords, to come to King's Landing and to be guests to the ceremony of my coronation.

My dearest Mother would welcome your unmarried sister as one of her Ladies with a sad but loving heart and such a young and kind Lady would surely help her greatly to ease her pain about her husbands death.

In the spirit of deep friendship that our Houses share....  
Rhaegar Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms  
..........................  
Lord Mace Tyrell looked triumphant over to his frowning mother. He was already seeing the future. His sister would surely be a prime candidate for the young King. Ha, he himself could be Uncle to the next King.

......... .........................................................................

To the Lord Regent of House Lannister

Most honored Ser Kevan Lannister,

with great sorrow in my heart i write you this letter.  
My dearest Mother and i have lost the head of our House and all of the Seven Kingdoms have lost one of their most promising Kings ever.

My honored and beloved Father, King Aerys the second of his name has lost his live in a tragic accident and after the honors of our ancient ways were given to him and he will be entombed at the New Moon, we all will have to find the new Will to go own with this life and do our duty.

It is in this same accident, that the Lord Hand and your most honorable Brother, Lord Tywin Lannister was hurt quite badly. Lord Tywin is currently unable to write but your brother Ser Gerion wrote for him of what has happened. As Ser Gerion surely wrote, it is Lord Tywins great wish that his oldest two children should be sent to him here in Kings Landing. 

I already sent Ser Jonothor Darry of my Kingsguard and my good friend the Squire Jon Connington along with a hundred riders as Honor Guard, to meet you on your way.

I would like to invite you thus and of course the whole of your most prestigious family and most honorable Lords, to come to King's Landing and to be guests to the ceremony of my coronation to which i hope that Lord Tywin will be then strong enough again to attend too.My dearest Mother would welcome Lord Tywin's daughter as one of her Ladies with a sad but loving heart and such a young and kind Lady would surely help her greatly to ease her pain about her husbands death.

Lord Tywin's son though shall be my Cupbearer, as it is his honorable father's wish.

In the spirit of deep friendship that our Houses share....  
Rhaegar Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms  
..............................  
Kevan Lannister showed his sister the letter of the King first and then the one of Gerion. Their youngest brother had confirmed the Kings words and had written that Cersei and Jaime would surely be helpful for their fathers health to get better.  
Genna though looked sceptical and Kevan himself was not sure. Something was not right and he felt unsatisfied by not hearing from Tywin himself.

.........................................................................................

To the Lord Paramount of the Trident, and Lord of Riverrun

Most honored Lord Tully,

with great sorrow in my heart i write you this letter.  
My dearest Mother and i have lost the head of our House and all of the Seven Kingdoms have lost one of their most promising Kings ever.

My honored and beloved Father, King Aerys the second of his name has lost his live in a tragic accident and after the honors of our ancient ways were given to him and he will be entombed at the New Moon, we all will have to find the new Will to go own with this life and our duty.

I would like to invite you thus and of course the whole of your most prestigious family and most honorable Lords, to come to King's Landing and to be guests to the ceremony of my coronation and sent to you Ser Willem Darry, my father's Master-at-arms as Honor Guard and to accompany you and yours to King's Landing.

My dearest Mother would welcome your daughters in the midst of her Ladies with a sad but loving heart and such young and kind Ladies would surely help her greatly to ease her pain about her husbands death.

In the spirit of deep friendship that our Houses share....  
Rhaegar Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms

...........................  
Lord Hoster Tully showed the letter to his beloved wife and she agreed with him that it was a good Chance for their daughters to try to catch the young Kings eye.

...........................................................................................

To the Princess of Dorne of the most noble House of Nymeros Martell and Lady of Sunspear

Most honored Princess,

with great sorrow in my heart i write you this letter.  
My dearest Mother and i have lost the head of our House and all of the Seven Kingdoms have lost one of their most promising Kings ever.

My honored and beloved Father, King Aerys the second of his name has lost his live in a tragedy that i can not bring to letter and after the honors of our ancient ways were given to him and he will be entombed at the New Moon, we all will have to find the new Will to go own with this life and our duty.

I would greatly appreciate your thoughts about these matters, though i can only talk about them from eye to eye and trust greatly in your honor that these things will be kept between us.

I would like to invite you thus and of course the whole of your most prestigious family and most honorable Lords and Ladies, to come to King's Landing and to be guests to the ceremony of my coronation.

I sent to you my dearest friend Ser Arthur, of your own loyal House of Dayne, recently knighted by Ser Gerold Hightower, the Lord Commander of my father's Kingsguard himself. See Arthur will be honored if you will allow him to accompany you as Honor Guard to King's Landing.

My dearest Mother would welcome your daughter in the midst of her Ladies with a sad but loving heart and such young and kind Lady would surely help her greatly to ease her pain about her husbands death.

Furthermore i would be greatly honored if the friendship that my beloved mother shares with you, would also become such a one between your sons and i.

In the spirit of deep friendship that our Houses share through their gentle mothers...  
Rhaegar Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms  
........................  
The Princess of Dorne looked over to her daughter Elia with a smile and she shared that smile with her oldest son and heir Doran. Then they both looked over to the youngest one in the room.  
Oberyn looked back at them with a smirk and leaned closer to his sister.

Elia though was frowning and was reading the letter for the third time already. She didn't like the ominous words but all of her normally so smart family was only seeing the possibility of her being the King's Bride.  
Besides Oberyn of course, for he would try again his best to make sure that she would stay unmarried.  
Elia smiled gently at her unruly younger brother.

........................................................................................

To the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands and Lord of Storm's End

Most honored Lord Baratheon and dearest Cousin,

with great sorrow in my heart i write you this letter.  
My dearest Mother and i have lost the head of our House and all of the Seven Kingdoms have lost one of their most promising Kings ever.

My honored and beloved Father, King Aerys the second of his name has lost his live through a most brutal and unforgivable assault by his own most trusted advisor, his own Hand, Lord Tywin Lannister.

I urge you to come to King's Landing as soon as you can and help my mother and i in this great tragedy

My dearest Mother would welcome your dear wife and your son with a sad but loving heart and the boy would surely help her greatly to ease her pain about her husbands death.

I hope that you might arrive around the time of the New Moon, it will be then that my honored fathers remains will be entombed.

After that sad duty will be done, i will need to talk with you most urgently.

Furthermore, i would be greatly honored and relieved if you would stand by my side during the coronation ceremony.

I have full trust in your honor and friendship and our family bondings that this letter will be kept between us.

In the spirit of the blood that our Houses share....  
Rhaegar Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms

........................  
Steffon Baratheon blanched considerably while reading the letter and then closed his eyes in deep pain.  
Such a friendship as it was once and this now was how it ended.  
Surely there must have been unknown problems before but how could Tywin forget himself like that.  
Poor Rhaegar, poor Rhaella.  
Lord Baratheon decided that he would do his best to help them through these horrible times.


	10. Foreboding

He was so tired but at least he was not alone anymore. His wingsister was by his side and their two younger wingbrothers were currently flying out to search for their human. The four of them knew that he was there in the huge and many building on top of the Hill by the Sea but they hadn't be able to find their human till now.

His wingsister was currently caring for her feathers and smoothed them out. She looked rather nicely while doing so and he thought to himself that he wouldn't mind to making a murder or two with her. Surely their descendants would be strong ones.

He was still thinking about it when the two wingbrothers were coming back full of excitement. They had found their human.

The four Ravens decided to wait till it was deep in the Night before they would fly to where their human was staying.  
The oldest Raven was hopping really close to the only she-Raven and began to gently help her smoothing out her head feathers.

.....

Hother looked out of the Window and down into the Great inner yard. His patient was finally sleeping again and dammit but it had been a nerve wracking enough day that the Maester wished for himself that he could find sleep too but sadly it eluded him once again.

He brought his Cup of Ale once again to his mouth and enjoyed the slightly bitter taste. Hother closed his eyes and just breathed in and out and tried to forget for at one moment how close to death his last two days had been.

Flashback.....  
"If he dies, you will die too Maester."

"If you wouldn't have torn away all the bandages in such a hasty and forceful way to inspect the many wounds of my Patient but instead allowed me to do it, then Lord Tywin surely wouldn't have reacted as he did. His wounds are infected and made him feverish, he sometimes is hitting out without knowing it because of this fever. It was absolutely unnecessary and rather unfavorable to weaken him even more by hitting him back."

"If a man strikes me and this man is the murderer of my King on top of it, you can be sure that i have no care about my striking back being unfortunate. His death would not be on my shoulders but on yours though and if Lannister couldn't be brought to justice by the sword anymore, i would make sure that my new King will agree with me and let you take the murderers spot." was the smug Lord Commander's answer.  
Flashback end....

Hother sighed deeply. It was too long since a sword had been in his hands in such a way, too long since he was a boy and trained together with brothers, he had no doubt that the damn White Bull would carve him into pieces if the young King would allow it.

The Maester looked down into the Courtyard again and thought about how to save his own life, when he suddenly saw someone that he had hoped would stay lost in the great East forever.

Marwyn, here in the Red Keep. How in all the ....from the Great Hall the young King came out, followed as ever by Ser Gerold and even though the Lord Commander himself looked startled and slightly uncomfortable at seeing the newly arrived Maester, King Rhaegar himself looked actually relieved and nearly happy.

Hother shifted his standing position slightly so that he could not be seen easily in the window if someone in the Courtyard should look to the Tower of the Hand.

Marwyn was here and from the way that he was greeted by the young King, they both know each other already quite well. Hother began to worry. This would only complicate everything even more. Marwyn had surely not forgiven Hother himself for nearly offing one of his most effective spys.  
Though really, what had the whore expected, no Umber liked to be fooled out of his money, no matter how pretty a whore's lips wrapped themselves around a member or how enticing the whore himself was.

Still, Marwyn himself had been angered that he couldn't use one of his best whore spys anymore in their most effective ways and had sworn revenge against Hother back then when they both were still in the Citadel.

Hother started to grind his teeth in frustration, just what he needed right now, even more unnecessary problems. Damn it.

The Courtyard grew empty again when the King and Maester Marwyn went over to the Royal Quarters, followed dutifully by the unhappy looking Lord Commander.

Hother nearly closed his eyes in anger. One more opponent near him now, joy oh joy.

Suddenly four shadows rushed at him from outside at an alarmingly high speed and he staggered back.

When the shadows came to a sudden stop inside of the room, Hother found himself staring at four of his Ravens. His Ravens from his secret Room. One of the big birds came closer and touched the Maesters hand with his beak.

"Hello old friend, it is good to see you and the others. I'm happy that you all are still alive and free. This will help me greatly."

And Hother then took gentle care of his exhausted birds.


	11. Meetings and Plans

A day after Hother found out that Maester Marwyn arrived in the Red Keep and he then also was surprised to have four of his special Ravens back, he was ordered away from his patient and was brought to the King in some small room in a Tower that overlooked the Walls that faced the Blackwater.

The King and his Mother were there, Ser Gerold was there, Ser Barristan was there and Maester Marwyn too. The Targaryens and the Maester were sitting at a table on which numerous books lay, some of them opened and in front of all three of them were standing Cups of wine.

Hother tried to go onto his knees in front of the young King and his Mother but Rhaegar himself bid him to not bother but instead to take a seat at the same table at which the King, the Queen mother and the other Maester already sat. Hother did so.

Marwyn's eyes narrowed at him and he gave back the same look. Rhaella Targaryen looked unhappy and uncomfortable, clearly she wished to be elsewhere but her son looked nearly happy.

It was actually a curious look on the melancholic but otherworldly pretty face of the young King, thought Hother to himself.  
Such a happiness was not something that was often found on the features of Targaryens, at least it wasn't so in the mind of others of that family, by the look of Rhaellas face when ever she watched her son.

"In five days time my father's entombment ceremony will take place and the morning after Lord Tywin will have his trial in a combat against Lord Commander Gerold Hightower. I trust you Maester Hother that you will make sure that Lord Lannister is able to stand long enough in front of the people of King's Landing all by himself, till the accusation was made official and till the Lord Commander then slayed him."

"I beg your pardon your Grace but Lord Lannister is not even able to ask for a trial by combat, the Lord Commander had broken Lord Tywins jaw and blackened half the face at his last visit, he also had made the barely healing injuries that came by your fathers command, now worse again.  
I really don't think that my patient is..."

"I did not ask you of your opinion, now did i do that Maester?"

"Of course not your Grace but the matter still is that Lord Tywin will not be able to do what you just told me. He simply cannot stand by his own and he also cannot speak and..."

"The people will hear after the accusation was read, that Tywin Lannister asked earlier, when he was still in his Cell, for the trial by combat. The High Septon will confirm it for the population. About Lord Tywins inability to stand by his own, i will charge you to find a way to make it possible, do you understand Maester Hother?"

The Queen started to speak.

"Your Grace, my dear son, surely we can wait for the next moon or two. Tywin Lannister did a great crime but his many years of loyal service should not be forgotten but rewarded in the way that we at least give him enough time to heal, so that the Gods and the people will see a fair combat. He is the Warden of West, don't forget this. The other Wardens and Lord Paramounts would see it as a betrayal of their rights, to treat one of their own like a common criminal without a fair and true trial."

"Beloved Mother, while your gentleness is admirable and your ability to treat the murderer of your own husband is as selfless as the love of the Mother herself, it still does not change my will and since not you are the King but i am, my Word and Will stands."

"My dear son.."

"Ser Barristan, my mother is tired already. Take her back to her rooms and make sure that no one enters them and disturbs her mourning."

The Queenmother looked speechless at her sons words but he already dismissed her from his mind and concentrated on Hother again.

Ser Barristan did as the King commanded him, like he always did. Not even the hint of a question was to see on his face. When Rhaella tried to step to her son, the Kingsguard took her by her arm and tugged her out of the room instead, without even the slightest bit of facial reaction.

The King came before the Queen.

Hother preferred the damn Lord Commander over this tame Kingsguard, Gerold followed the the Kings command even more but at least on his face there was emotion to be seen. Hard to believe that the man that tugged out his own Queen without any remorse on her sons command was once called 'the Bold'. It was unbelievable that this tame White Guard had slain the last Blackfyre. Would the Bold Barristan let himself so easily ordered around by a King that young, Hother wondered to himself.

But the Maester then looked up again to said King and found himself on the end of a piercing gaze from cool dark indigo eyes. Hother looked from the King to the other two men in the room. Hightower was clearly enraged but Marwyn looked like he was enjoying himself immensely. His large hands were folded on the table and he was smirking unashamedly.

Hother turned his eyes back to the young Dragon. Rhaegar Targaryen was taking a drink from his Cup and looked at the Maester with near Sympathy in his eyes.

"You will make sure that my command is fulfilled, won't you Maester Hother? Or i will order you bound to Tywin, after all, weren't you the one that helped him to kill my father? Hmm? I really don't remember, but Ser Gerold told me afterall, that you hadn't helped your King when he was lying bleeding on the floor."

Hother felt himself growing cold inside. Damn King and damn Hightower and damn this smirking Marwyn while he was at it.

"Lord Lannister will be ready your Grace, the population will witness your Grace's fairness to the opponents of the House Targaryen like your Grace wishes it."

"That is good to hear Maester Hother but then i never doubted that you would answer this way. Maester Marwyn told me after all that you are an intelligent and creative man, with an astounding talent to patch up deep lacerations. Or were it knife wounds. Maester Marwyn told me so many interesting things after all, quite a lot of them were about you."

Hother looked over to the now smug looking Marwyn and rued the day that he had been too drunk to gut the bloody bastard, back when they were both younger.

"Maester Marwyn was certainly kind to tell you of my healing talent your Grace but.."

"Ser Gerold will bring you back to your patient, you certainly have to care for him, now don't you Maester Hother?"

"Of course your Grace"

The Lord Commander bowed deeply to his King, while Hother nodded his head only slightly and then they were already outside and he and the White Knight were quickly enough in front of the Tower of the Hand again.

Ser Gerold was ranting angrily that he should stay with his King and not leave him alone with obscure Maesters and not bringing other Maesters to their Patients, there were enough lower Guards for these kind of things around after all but Hother kept quiet.

Marwyn obviously irritated the proud Kingsguard. That was good in Hothers opinion, it was a weakness to show irritation this openly after all.

Ser Gerold really should control himself better but the servant that brought the daily food into the Tower to Hother and his Patient whispered quietly that the Lord Commander was normally way more selfcontrolled, only since the day that the old King died, he showed so much emotion openly.

Hother stepped inside the Tower and then into the room of Tywin Lannister, while the Kingsguard went back to his King.

It was early evening and the wounds needed to be cleaned again.

..........................

All too soon the night became morning already. Hother looked away from Tywin Lannisters feverish body and out of the window for a minute, then he concentrated again to clean his patient from his waste and to then tug him into his clean sheets.

The Lion Lord looked slightly embarrassed but mostly tired to the Maester, because even though he was mostly sleeping, it did not meant that he was not tired in the short time that he was awake in between. His body was using so much of his strength to heal, that even opening his eyes for the time that the Maester asked him to do that, or to open his mouth when he was feed some broth, was often draining him considerably of what little strength he had and only made him more tired again.

Not that he could open more than the right eye right now for his left eye was swollen shut and his left jaw was broken after Ser Gerolds 'gentle behavior'.

Hother looked contemplating to his patient and Tywin Lannister forced himself to open his good eye a bit more, so that he could return the look.

No noise was to hear, they just looked at each other for a moment, both thinking about the words of the King that Hother had told earlier to Lord Tywin.

The Lion Lord looked nearly resigned. Tired, beaten up and nearly resigned. But there was still a tiny speck of satisfaction to be found in this Hazel eye, the satisfaction and pride that came from the knowledge that he had killed the King that he hated.

Hother could respect that. It was not the main reason though that made him think of a way to escape and to take his patient with him. No, his main reason was that he was done with the new King already and that he knew that he wouldn't survive Tywin for long anyway.

Hother decided that early morning that he would find a way to escape with a thoroughly useless-right-now Tywin Lannister, just to spite the men that he so had grown to dislike.

Umbers break their Chains after all.


	12. The King talks with Marwyn and later with his Mother

This Conversation is in High Valerian.  
............................................  
"Great-Granduncle Aemon will soon have reached Winterfell, he promised me in his last letter that he would do me the favor and visit the Starks and their library, to look for more information. He should have been already there actually but since i haven't received a Raven till now, i can't know for sure."

"Maester Aemon is one of the smartest men alive. Your Grace, is he not questioning your wishes?"

"You of all people ask me this question Maester Marwyn? You yourself told me that the Maesters of the Citadel never trusted his blood, never trusted the magic in it.

Great-granduncle Aemon once took the black because he wanted the best for his brother and now he leaves his outpost for a short time, with the allowance of the Lord Commander of the Nightwatch and after he made sure that he had some black brothers trained enough in medicine to be useful there while he is away, because he wants the best for me."

"I rather doubt that he told his true reason to the Lord Commander of the Nightwatch."

"Of course he didn't Maester Marwyn, he is old but wise. He told that he needed information that would be useful to maintain the Wall and since not all could be found in the Black Castle library, he was sure that there would be found more in Winterfell."

"I would never thought that Aemon Targaryen doesn't know what to do but does he know what you are planning your Grace?"

"He and i conversated the last time through letters three weeks before my father was so unfortunately brought to an end. That was when Great-uncle promised me to leave for Winterfell. Than father ordered a couple of days before his death that no Ravens left or could came in alive and till i received your friend Hothers ravens through Ser Gerold six days ago, there were no living Ravens to be found here anywhere. I sadly have to wait till my Uncle will send me a Raven from Winterfell."

"Your Grace, did he know what exactly you had planned?"

"I am young Maester, not careless though to write everything down in a letter and certainly not things that the Citadel would show too much interest into."

"I would never doubt you my King but when you and Aemon can communicate again, what will you tell him? Even the North will find out soon enough what has happened."

"Maester, you are wise man. Surely the smartest man and the most well traveled man that i know but believe me when i tell you that i know what to write to my Great granduncle. 

There are more important things that you need to think about. What news do you have from Asshai and from the Red Priests?"

"Well your Grace, we.."  
...........end of Valyrian conversation......

The door opened and Ser Gerold stepped inside. 

King Rhaegar Targaryen looked angrily up and ordered his Kingsguard out of the Room and to stand Guard outside in front of the Door. The King wished to speak alone with his Maester.

Gerold Hightower followed his Kings command and left the other two men alone.

Inside, the two men spoke again in High Valyrian but much quieter as before.

Outside, in front of the door, he scowled though. He knew who this Maester was and he disapproved of him alone with the young King. Who knew what terrible things this Maester, this mad magicuser was telling his King.  
Rhaegar Targaryen shouldn't be tarnished by such a man.

..............  
Later in the Queen's rooms  
......

Many hours after she was brought back into her rooms by Ser Barristan, Rhaella Targaryen was still wandering around.

Twenty-one steps from her bed to the door of her private privy. Thirty-two steps from the door that led out of the room to the window that overlooks the smaller inner Courtyard. Fifty-four steps for walking the inner round of her room completely.

She looked often to the door that led out into the hallway. Ser Barristan was still standing outside of it, her maid told her that when she brought Rhaella the nightmeal nearly an hour ago.

She finally sat down on her bed and raised her hands to her face. They were still shaking, her hands had not stopped doing so since her son and this uncanny Maester Marwyn told her in the small room of Rhaegars plan, while Ser Gerold and Ser Barristan were waiting outside.

She had not even the time to ask her son if he was serious and if he knew what madness he had planned, when he already called the two Kingsguards inside and commanded that the Maester that cared for Tywin Lannister should be brought to thIs room.

It was a short time later that the Maester stepped inside the room but for Rhaella it counted nearly like eternity.

Ser Barristan was silent during the wait but Ser Gerold talked animatedly with her son about the letters to the Lord Wardens and Paramounts, while he at the same time tried to ignore the presence of the uncanny and smirking Maester Marwyn.

The Maester sometimes said something in a low voice to her son but even though Rhaella was not far away, it was too quietly said as that she could understand it.

Her son himself though, he was the greatest mystery for Rhaella. Once she had thought that she knew him but in the last couple of months, already before Jaehaerys was even born, her beloved oldest and only living child changed. Now that he was King for barely a week though, she felt as if she never had known him at all.

Then the Maester Hother came in and the Queenmother was horrified to find out what Rhaegars idea for the trial by combat was.

She remembered how she had tried to make her son see reason but he only sent her away. Ordered her to be brought away by Ser Barristan by force even.

She sat on her bed and thought back to that moment hours ago.

This man could not be her son, could he?

Her son was gentle and not someone that planned in cold blood how to fake a trial before the gods and get away with it.

She clasped her shaking hands together and sighed deeply.

The door opened and she could hear her son on the outside telling Ser Barristan to get his rest and that for the next few hours the Queenmother would be guarded by the Royal Housegards. Ser Barristan did as the King ordered and then her son stepped inside her room and shut the door behind himself.

Conversation in High Valyrian

"Mother, i hope that you feel better now."

" Rhaegar, it is madness what you have told me. Pure madness. Think of Summerhall, think of all the ones that have died. And your other plans, by the gods they are worse. You can't kill Tywin Lannister like this. You just cannot do this. It is a farce and not only you will spit into the faces of the gods but you will also break so many agreements that our House has with the higher Nobility, nobody would trust us ever again. Think about that, i beg you to think about that."

"My poor mother, so many years had my father not taken you seriously enough but you certainly know the laws better than he ever did. That this whole situation with Lannister is right now a bit hastily planned is father's fault of course, but you have to understand that i can't let Tywin go. He cannot stay alive for he is too powerful. I need weaker Lords and not that some of them that hate us, are staying alive and having the Chance to ruin my plans. He must die and so he will die. I only had planned it for a bit later times but father had sadly forced me too act sooner than i hoped for."

"Rhaegar, we are too weak. It is just us two, no dragons either, just the two of us. That is the whole of House Targaryen and with your plans, we two will also be the last."

"Oh mother, have more trust in me. I don't plan to be the last one, i am the first one of a new time."

The Queenmother shrank back from her son after she heard this words. Her eyes searched in his face for anything, for any sign that he meant it as a joke maybe. Any sign that he spoke so because he was contemplating his plans too and maybe was afraid and just tried to sound brave.

His face was beautiful, he always had been the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. His face was otherworldly beautiful and his eyes were sparkling like indigo gemstones in the sun. She found no signs of fear though in his face, no signs of regret or forced bravery either.

He looked completely calm. Her son was absolutely serious. No regrets, no fear, no doubts were in him. She finally understood that he meant what he said and that he would follow what he had planned and that he would allow no one to stand in his way.

It was the moment that Rhaella Targaryen began to fear her son, more that she ever did her husband when he was alive.


	13. A little bit of Magic

It was the hour of the Owl when Hother opened a Vein on the front of his upper arm.  
Blood streamed rapidly out of the wound and into a Cup, till he closed the cut with a glowing knife, put honey on it and then bandaged it.

Hother took the bloodfilled Cup and walked over to the casket behind the bed upon which Tywin Lannister was sleeping. The Maester opened the large casket and looked down onto the four sleeping Ravens inside.

"Come my friends for i have need of you."

One Raven after another opened their eyes and looked up to him. Hother stepped back and all four Raven hopped out of the Casket and followed their human. The Maester stopped in front of the fireplace and kneeled down. The Ravens surrounded him and he smiled slightly before he gave a sign and his oldest Raven came closer till it stopped directly in front of the Maester.

Hother leaned forward, dipped his index finger and his middle finger into the blood and made the symbol of 'finding the way' on the head of the Raven with it.

He repeated that with the other Ravens too and then let every of them drink a bit of the blood. The four looked up to him with the tips of their beaks bloody, the tip of their heads each had a bloody symbol on it and Hother smiled at them.

He then rolled out a map of Westeros, Lord Tywins best one and showed the Ravens King's Landing on it.

"Altar, you will fly to Casterly Rock. See, that is here on the map. Here you see King's Landing where we are now and there is Casterly Rock. Look how you have to fly."

Altar, his oldest Raven, looked on the map where his new and unknown destination was, looked back to Hother and then nodded.

"Andvar, you will fly to Winterfell. Since Addil is likely dead, it will be your new destination and not the Mountains anymore. Learn the way."

And the Raven looked on the map.

"Agnar, you will search the streets of the City from above. Look out and count how many Guards you see and come back to tell me."

Agnar left immediately and Hother looked to his last Raven, the only female one.

"Arnvia, remember how i once brought you to the Harbor at night and showed you a ship there and the Captain on it? You are the only Raven that i have that loves to fly over water for long times, so you must search for this ship. Captain Omaro Degorro is due for his monthly tour here in the City, he can not be that far away anymore. You must search the whole bay for his ship and bring him my message."

The Raven nodded, Hother tied the message on her leg and she left.

Andvar left after Hother tied his message to Lord Stark around his leg and told him to fly with the help of the holy trees.

The Maester looked at his oldest Raven and tied the Message to Kevan Lannister around his leg. Hother touched the Ravens head and mumbled the magic that would make Altar tireless. He would fly without rest and at highest speed possible for Ravens. After Hother finished his magic, his Raven took off.

The Maester closed the now empty casket and went to left wall where all of his own strawfilled transport boxes were. He had already emptied them of the medicines that he packed into them under the watchful eyes of Gerold Hightower back in his house in the City. Now though, Hother rolled out a blanket and put all the straw that was still in every box on it. He then tugged out the thin wooden double bottoms out of every box and brought them to the fireplace. Better to burn the evidence of secrecy.

After the ten thin wooden slabs burned, Hother went back to his boxes and emptied them of their special content. Each box contained around thirty tiny bottles. He pulled up his robe and stored the narcotics in the pouch that he tied around his legs and then put the robe back down. The ingredients for the purple fire were put into the insewn chest high pouch on the inside of his robe. The fast working poisons in the pouches inside his left sleeve, the slower working ones went into his pouches inside his right sleeve.

He took out a rather hard but secure pouch out between his blankets and filled the pouch with little bottles full of acid, then he lifted the robe again but only halfhigh and tied the pouch around his calf and then put the robe back down.

When he was finished hiding as much of his special bottles as he could, he put the straw back on in the now really empty boxes. If Marwyn would talk about double bottoms, nobody would find in Hothers boxes at least.

The Maester then looked to the around hundred tiny bottles that were still on the floor. His special mixture of Wildfyre. Just tiny amount in every single bottle but combined with the fifteen other tiny bottles of his most aggressive acid, it might give him a possibility to leave the Red Keep.

Hother looked over to the groaning Lord Tywin. He was slowly waking up again.

The Maester started to gnaw on his lower lip. He would get out way easier without the Lion Lord, though it was still not really like he could do a simple walk. With the Lannister Lord it would complicate everything of course but then, he had promised himself that he would destroy the arrogant King's plans of this scam of a trial by combat.

Hother put the tiny bottles filled with green fire out of sight and then stepped to the bed.

He would take Tywin Lannister with him, even though it would make things harder, the only regret that Hother felt at the moment was that he would not be able to see the faces of his opponents after that.

The Maester looked from the Lion Lord to the window. Another day was slowly starting. Only three days away till the old King would be entombed.


	14. Marwyn gets tricked by the King

At the same time Hother used the bit of old bloodmagic that he once learned in his childhood, two men were in a different part of the Red Keep. The young King had himself brought Maester Marwyn into a room, deep down under the Great Hall. They had passed great underground halls but the King only stopped when they reached a room that was at the end of seemingly endless stairs.

The room itself was nothing special, it had bleak grey Walls and was empty and overly large, twenty feet wide and twenty-five feet long and fifteen feet high as the young King told Marwyn. But what had happened here many years ago had been special.

"In this room it was that Aerys the first of his name watched his Uncle and Lord Hand Brynden Rivers and his new Grandmaester, a companion of Bloodraven, perform magic. They showed him a bit of bloodmagic, not much though, just how to enter other peoples minds. They also showed Aerys how to manipulate fire.

And he did nothing with it. He liked to learn, to read, to write about it but he never used it."

"I agree with you, your Grace it was a shame that he never used such Powers but that is long ago now. Why are you showing me this room now? "

"Feel along the Walls Maester."

Marwyn did and looked surprised and at the same time impressed when the Walls seemed to disappear and instead he found himself standing in front of a long table upon which many books were stapled high upon each other. Behind the table was a high shelf filled with many pots and bottles and behind the shelf was a wall that was made from scales, at least it seemed so. 

Marwyn turned left and touched the next bleak wall and it disappeared too. The whole side was filled with shelf full of many mysterious but also common herbs and animal parts.

Marwyn went over to the two other bleak Walls and one disappeared only to show three different fireplaces, each surrounded by a different stone, the last Wall though only turned out to be made out of black scales. It was the Wall where the door was in. The inside of the door itself was bedecked in black scales too.

Marwyn looked over to the King. The young Targaryen was wandering over to the table and took a book and opened it. He started to read aloud from it.

"The morning of the sixteenth day of the third moon in the fourth year of the reign of King Aerys, the first of his Name.

Lord Hand Brynden Rivers and I had the pleasure to show his Grace Aerys our new experiments. It was a liquid that we rubbed on a thief. The thief was then thrown into the fire and he did not burn.  
After he was in the fire for over three hours, the flames were finally going out. Lord Brynden slit the thieves throat so that the witness of this magic could not talk.

His Grace was deeply impressed by the abilities of the liquid and deemed it quite magical and useful."

The King put the book down and looked over to Marwyn and he then ordered him to recreate this liquid.

Marwyn looked around himself surprised but the King already went over to the door.

"Maester, don't try to get out of this room, you can only leave when i allow it to you. The magic inside of this room and in the walls and the door only works for Targaryens."

Then the door closed itself behind the King and Marwyn was alone.

He scoffed at himself, trapped by a fifteen year old manchild, he should have never trusted a Dragon.   
..........................


	15. The Stormlanders arrive in King's Landing

This, Steffon Baratheon thought to himself, this had to be the most joyous that he had ever seen the people of the King's Landing behaving themselves.

From every corner the people were singing the praise of their Silver Prince that was now King. Steffon and his Stormlander Lords heard, while they went from the Harbor where their ships were anchored, on their whole tour up to the Red Keep that the young King had opened the treasury and bought all the food that was available and brought over from Essos too and then gifted all the food to the poor and not so poor of the City.

Smallfolk and rich merchants and Lords alike all spoke of the generosity of the new King. Steffon thought about Tywins hard and ruthless tax collectors while hearing the praise for the young Targaryen. How long would the surely great riches in the Royal treasury last if this generous behavior of the new King would continue?

The Lord of Storm's End thought about Rhaegars letter, about the damning words written there about his old friend Tywin, the accusations of the young King and wondered about the future. The Power of the Iron Throne was channeld through Tywin and not through Cousin Aerys. Who would be the Power now for Rhaegar, with Tywin accused of the crime of Kingslaying?

Steffon thought about his last talk with his wife before he left and how they both were not sure what to make of young Rhaegar's words. The Stormlander Lord remembered how his wife asked him if one of his oldest friends would kill their other old friend and Steffon only answered her helplessly that Tywin had too much selfdisciplin to do so normally but if he would do it, he would make sure to come out on top.

The Lord of Storm's End shook his head and banned all thoughts about that talk to the back of his mind. He and his Lords had arrived in the King's Keep and now it would not do for him to think of past conversations but to concentrate on the one in the near future, the one with his new King.

The Lords of the Stormlands stepped into the Great Hall and saw the new King standing high above them on tops of the stairs of the Iron Throne with two of his Kingsguards standing down in front of the stairs. Clad entirely in black and simple clothing, only on the young King's heartside there was a small embroidery of red Dragon heads, the only colorful part on his clothes. His silvergold hair was long and hung straight down his back and his young and beautiful face looked solemn and regal at the same time. The only color in his face came from his glittering eyes, this odd color between Sapphires and Amethysts. The young King wore no Crown, no ring, no necklace nor any other jewelry but that just enhanced his awe-inspiring look.

Lord Baratheon and his Lords kneeled in front of the Throne, all rather speechless and with wonder in their eyes.

Where other might need gold and jewels to shine, Rhaegar Targaryen glowed from his inner self and looked so calm that he seemed much older than he was. Steffon Baratheon felt speechless for he had never before seen the son of his Cousin look like this. He had seen Rhaegar countless times before, the solemn boy that loved to read when he was small and just took to weapon training four years ago. The boy still had looked more comfortable while reading or playing his harp but he had non the less trained hard and was a good and agile and strong fighter, even at his young age. He had never before inspired the awe in Steffon Baratheon though, had never looked so complete with himself and so unshakable.

The Lord of Storm's End thought for a moment that this could not be the young manchild that he had seen barely half a year ago for the last time, not this King that looked already more regal than Cousin Aerys ever did.

"I welcome you Lord Baratheon and your Lords too. It is good to see that the might of the true and loyal Stormlanders arrived in our mourning City."

Steffon Baratheon could hear some of his Lords snort when the City was called mourning for not a single soul had did so but then he concentrated again on his King's words.

"I would welcome all your Lords tonight with a feast, as it is only right to do so but before that, i need to speak to you in private Cousin Steffon. Please follow me and you my Lords will be shown to your Quarters."

No Stormlander Lord could even ask anything before they were already accompanied by servants and left the Hall.

King Rhaegar stepped down the stairs the stairs of the throne and then he bid the Lord of Storm's End to follow him. After them were trailing Ser Barristan and Ser Gerold.

........................................................................  
.................................................................  
I am not happy with this but i really needed to get this out of the way and the last week i had too much family stuff going on. Anyway, yes Rhaegar is actually going the good old way of making himself even more popular with the smallfolk by giving away free food. Let's hope for him that his treasury is quite large and filled with enough coin.


	16. Aemon in Winterfell

"Welcome in Winterfell Maester Aemon. I hope that your journey was not too arduous."

"It was not Lord Stark and i thank you for the welcome. Even more though i am thankful that you allowed me to come in the first place and to make use of your library."

"House Stark always tried to help the Nightwatch, to let you search in Winterfells library for lost books and scripture about the Wall and other important things that you mentioned in your letter is thus only logical. Maester Luwin will gladly help you tomorrow and the coming days but for this evening you might be enjoy it to finally sit no longer in a saddle but a comfortable chair and be guest in my Halls. My wife Lyarra will gladly welcome you too this evening but she is now resting for she is heavy with child and in need of her strength."

"Once again i thank you for your hospitality then Lord Stark and i hope to not be bothersome for the Lady Stark."

"My dear wife will surely find it not inconvenient to have another Maester nearby. Oh and here is our own Maester Luwin. I leave the two of you alone now, Maester Luwin will show you your Quarter and later will bring you with him to our evening meal. Maesters, i now have to ask you to please leave me to work, for much is still to be done in these times."

And thus Aemon found himself following the younger Maester through the hallways of Winterfell and behind him two of the houseguards of the Starks followed him. He remembered when he arrived in the North so long ago, accompanied at that time by the Bloodraven and many of his Raven's teeth and of course some prisoners. Two hundred men they were all together when they became Black Brothers in the Year 233, right in the third year of the great hungerwinter.

Aemon forced himself to forget that time of loss and pain. For most of Westeros, this Year was only known as the Year that Aegon the Unlikely became King Aegon the fifth. Only the North had always remembered the sorrowful events too.  
The North remembers, how true that always was.

Aemon looked at the back of the younger Maester. Luwin was his name and he was the Maester of Winterfell for barely half a year now. Even at the Wall they had heard that the former Maester Walys was beheaded in front of the Grand Keep of the Starks, his remains brought out of the North all together when he had been found out to be using his knowledge of drugs to lure unwilling bedmates into his rooms. The Lady Stark herself was to be said to have asked her husband for the Maesters genitals after Walys had been found asleep in bed with a young visiting Lady of a lesser house underneath him, crying and with blood between her legs.

The girl had been sent by her Family as companion to the young Lyanna Stark and was barely ten namedays old. Maester Walys had been unlucky to not be able to leave the Northern lands alive and Aemon would bet that the new Maester Luwin and he himself were always under the observation not only of the two guards now following him but of many more people living in this Keep.

Before he could think about that all anymore though, they arrived in the part of Winterfell where the Guest Quarters were. Luwin opened the door and Aemon followed him inside. The guards stayed outside but looked into the room, their dark eyes following every move of Aemon.

It was a nice and comfortable Room, warm and spacious enough. His few things had already been set on the table in the corner, a fire was burning in the fireplace and Wine and bread and Salt were on the small table near the bed.

Aemon stepped to the table and took a piece of bread, sprinkled a bit of salt on it and took a bite. He then drank some of the Wine and while it was not a particularly good one, it was welcomed by the older Maester.

"I had not wanted to ask Lord Stark for it but now at least the fear that i am not really welcome here has been abated after i tasted the bread and salt and wine."

The younger Maester looked sad and slightly embarrassed but the two guards only nodded their heads and one of them then closed the door from the outside.

The two maesters were now alone.

"Lord Stark is a fair man, i have learned that during the last few month here, the Lady too. The common people though have a deep distrust in them and i am no Northman and neither are you, Maester Aemon."

"That is true, though non of us is from the Reach either like the former Maester Walys was."

"That is true, i was born in the Riverlands and a friend of my studying times that is a Maester too, he wrote to Lord Stark that he would ask for me. Lord Stark agreed as you see and the Citadel agreed too and slowly the people here learn to trust me as a Maester. Though i think that it helped me that i was recommended by a Northerner."

Aemon looked to the younger Maester after hearing those words.

"Who recommended you as Maester to House Stark? I do seldom hear that Northerners took to Oldtown."

"We studied together for some of the medical lessons for a couple of years, though we had not shared all interests. His name is Hother and since we had kept in contact even after he left the Citadel with his chain just then made and i had worked in Oldtown for a couple more years, he had written to the Lord Stark and brought my name forward for this honorable position."

Hother, Aemon thought to himself, Hother as in Hother Umber surely. That was the young Maester that young Marwyn had wrote him about many years ago. The one that had nearly disemboweled the whore that Marwyn had sent to him as a spy.

But then, Aemon thought to himself, Marwyn had always sounded so self-assured in his letters that it had been rather funny to read some of his then following letters with frustration about an opponent shining clearly through the words.

Aemon decided that he would have to carefully asking for more information about this unknown to him Maester Hother.

And he would have to ask Luwin who was responsible for the Raven that sometimes flew right into the Lord Commander's Rooms and never let itself be catched by anyone else. The Lord Commander himself always denied that the bird carried letters but said instead that it was an old one that was half-tame and thus sometimes liked to visit people. Aemon did not really believed that of course. No, there must be a different reason behind that bird and he would find out if this bird came from Winterfell.

Maester Luwin had asked him something but since Aemon had been so distracted by his own thoughts, he had to ask the younger Maester to repeat himself.

Again then Luwin asked him if he would like to see the library since they had about two hours left before it was time for the evening meal. Aemon agreed and so both men left the room and went to the Library Tower.

There were no guards following them this time but Aemon still felt eyes on his back. It would not be as easy here in Winterfell as he had hoped for, to find out more about what he and Rhaegar had written to each other. Damn this Maester Walys, it was his fault that the suspicious Northerners behaving even more distrustful than they normally already were.

For a short moment Aemon missed the Wall, there he was never treated with suspicion, there were so many men from all over Westeros who were thankful enough that he cared for them that he was never treated as a person that might be dangerous.

Well, the Lord Commander even was open about anything, besides the one Raven that could not be catched of course.

Here in Winterfell though, it would not be as easy to exchange quite so many letters with his young great-grand nephew as he was able to do from the Wall, not without attracting unwelcome attention at least.

Aemon sighed. He would do this favor for Rhaegar and then he would go back to his place at the Wall, where he did not have to deal with eyes on his back.

Maybe he would even find out more about this Hother, for entainment values in future letter conversation with this eager Marwyn.

He would care for that later, Aemon promised himself, first he would see about the informations that Rhaegar asked of him to find.


	17. In the Solar with Steffon and then visiting Mother

"I am disappointed my good Lord Baratheon. I wrote you in my letter that it would be most welcomed for you to bring your younger son with you. Your cousin, my beloved mother would have opened her heart for him. But you paid no heed to my humble request and this, my dear Uncle hurts me deeply."

"Rhaegar.."

Ser Gerold growled slightly from his position behind Steffon Baratheon.

"I mean your Grace of course, i have to excuse my wife and my younger son Stannis for both had taken ill and had to stay in bed for quite some time. They were simply not well enough to travel."

Rhaegar Targaryen looked thoughtful while he listened to the Lord of Storm's End. After Lord Steffon finished speaking, the King only nodded and said that he accepted that fact.

"Your Grace, i find myself curious about Lord Lannister. What you had written in the letter, i have to admit that i find it hard to believe. I had known Tywin since we were young boys at the Court of King Aegon, your Great-grandfather, my own Grandfather. He and your father and i practically grew up together for years and no matter what happened between my Cousin and Tywin, i know that Tywin Lannister would not simply attack his King."

"So you call me a liar? You tell me that i lied to you in my letter? Dear Uncle, you hurt me deeply with these words."

"No, i would never have meant.., this is of course not what i wanted to say, i swear that to you. No your Grace, i just thought that it all did not fit into what i had known of Lord Lannisters behavior in all these years."

"The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard himself had seen it. He was only too far away to stop the attack, were you not Ser Gerold?"

"Yes your Grace, i am ashamed to have to admit to this fact. I was too far away to protect his Grace King Aerys from this horrible attack."

Lord Baratheon had turned to the Kingsguard while the White Bull spoke those words, the disgust could be clearly heard in his Voice.

Steffon gulped after hearing these condemning words. Oh Tywin, he thought to himself, what have you done? Why have you had lost your self control thus?

He turned his eyes back to the young King, the only living child of his cousins.

"Would it be possible to speak with Lord Lannister?"

"Why of course Lord Baratheon, of course you can speak with him. But not this evening anymore. You and your companions had arrived here rather late and i promised your valiant and noble Lords a proper welcome at the Evening meal.

Tonight this will be a Stormlander night in the Keep and tomorrow night the remains of my father will be entombed. I will give the time to speak to the murderer of father before that though, right after the sun reached her highest point."

Clearly the Lord of the Stormlands was not happy with that but what should he other than to accept his Kings words and so he bowed and thanked the young Targaryen.

"You might like to leave now for your rooms and to refresh yourself."

"Of course your Grace, thank you."

Rhaegar nodded and Ser Gerold opened the door and Lord Baratheon left the room, stepped into the hallway and followed from there an servant, to be brought to his Guestrooms.

Ser Gerold watched as the Lord of Storm's End followed the servant around a corner into another hallway and then was finally out of sight. The White Bull stepped back into the Solar of his King and closed the door behind himself.

King Rhaegar was standing in front of the Windows and enjoyed the afternoon sun that sent her light into the room. The young Targaryen looked for his Kingsguard as if he was bathed in gold and fire.

The Voice of the young man sounded melancholic when he asked the older one of his opinion, while still looking out into the sunshine.

"He will become a problem for me if i am not careful, will he not? Or do you think Lord Commander, that my Uncle had believed and fully accepted my words and yours too as the final truth that they are?"

Ser Gerold stood next to his King when he answered, his voice sounded bitter and gruff.

"The Baratheons were never without ambitions your Grace, no matter how often your noble blood married into their line, the arrogance of the Durrandons always kept coming up again. It would be good if the treacherous Lion would not be able to tell his lies to Lord Baratheon.

And the Maester should be unable to do so too. Just to make sure that the Stag would not try something stupid of course."

The Silver King turned his head to his loyal Guard and looked at him with a gentle smile.

"As always, my dear Ser Gerold, you are my most trustworthy advisor and i know that you will make sure that there will be no disturbances in these important days to come.

After the welcoming feast tonight, you will accompany me once more to the Lion and his caretaker and we all will talk then."

"Of Course your Grace."

"Now rest a bit and i will visit my poor mother."

"Does her Grace feel a little bit better now? Will she be able to attend tonight at all?"

"I will know it when i had visited her Lord Commander but since she only had felt unwell since last night and had not be able to leave bed the whole day, we all should not have to much of a hope for this evening."

"It might be even for the best your Grace if your mother is still too unwell, for this means that Lord Steffon can not listen to the words of her Grace and can not be influenced by her incomprehensible compassion for the Kingslayer."

Oh White Bull, thought Rhaegar to himself, you are so eager. So eager to kill the Lion and so easy to manipulate for me.

He looked to his Kingsguard Commander with an amused little smile.

"While your words are true Ser Gerold, i would like to not hear again from you any kind of criticism about my mother. Compassion is the gift of the gods to the women, is it not?"

The Lord Commander looked startled and asked for forgiveness and agreed with his King.

Then Rhaegar sent him once more to get some rest and he himself then went to the rooms of his mother.

He went alone for he had forbidden the Kingsguard to sent any Guard with him for a walk that was so short and in the same Building.

When Rhaegar arrived in his mother's rooms he ordered her Ladies away and sat down near her bed.

He told her that the Stormlanders had arrived and of the conversation with her Cousin and his doubts.

He told her nothing about the conversation he had with Ser Gerold afterwards though.

Rhaella Targaryen was laying there in her bed and listened to her son, she was too weak to even speak right now. This sickness that had started last night had stolen all her strength. The whole night and more of half of the day she had spend throwing up in her chamber pot at first and later in a bucket. She had still thrown up even long after her stomach was already emptied. And in between that, her whole body had been in convulsions. What a horrible sickness. She was as weak as a newborn child.

Her eyes drifted slowly to her son. Just a few days ago she had been afraid of him but now she could see that he still was a good boy. He cared so deeply for her that she was ashamed of the thoughts that she had had two days ago.

His hands stroked gently the clammy brows of his mother and then he grabbed her nearest hand and kissed her fingers.

"I know that you will not talk behind my back with your Cousin. You would never do this to your own son, i know that mother. You love me more than anything else, do you not?"

And Rhaella nodded. He was not as she thought a few days ago, he was not. It had been the stress that had him made behave that way in the days since Aerys died.

She looked at her son and felt Hope. He cared for her, just the simple fact that he was sitting here and told her everything, showed Rhaella that the Heart of her son had not been turned to Stone.

Tomorrow she promised herself, tomorrow when she would feel better and stronger again, then she would make Rhaegar see the truth, that his plans about Tywin were madness.

Madness that had come from this new position that her gentle son was forced into so suddenly. Rhaegar would agree with her and then they would both talk with Steffon and find a less dangerous way to deal with Tywin Lannister.

Tomorrow Rhaegar would surely finally agree with her, he still cared about her his mother, that she could see because he was sitting here with her.

She smiled gently and full of love at her son and then she fell asleep.

Rhaegar looked at her.  
Poor mother, it had actually bothered him that he had to use a little trick to make her unable to speak with her Cousin before he himself could make Steffon Baratheon agree to his truth.

The young King laid the hand of his sleeping mother gently down on the bed.

She would be too sick for two more, maybe three more days and then his Lion problem would have been dealt with.

He looked at his mother with critical eyes. She was still a beautiful woman, even though her years as his father's wife and her many pregnancies and dead born children had surely managed to leave marks on her.

Maybe he could marry her to the Warden of the East, that would strengthen his connections with the Vale for a Lifetime.

With these thoughts in his mind, the King left his mother to make himself ready for the evening and the welcome feast for the Stormlanders.


	18. People in the Night

"Where d' ya think to be going man?" asked the Goldcloak a simple clad fisherman at the Rivergate. Before the fisherman could even answer though, he was already forced into the Gatehouse.

Inside, he was forced to his knees in front of a man that was dressed not so much different than the other Guards, only a white bat that was his cloak pin, gave the sign that he was no ordinary Gold cloak guard.

The eyes of the fisherman widened and he started to struggle with all his might but with no chance to free himself from the guards that were holding him.

The man with the white bat pin though, he looked at the struggling fisherman, sighed tiredly, looked to the guards that were holding the fisherman, then back to the man himself and then started to chuckle slightly before he spoke to the guards.

"Another night, another spy, another lie. Search him."

And they did thoroughly. The fisherman had a bag of coins with him, some copper, most Silver, a couple of dragons even. And a small satchel with three letters, a satchel made of fine leather and without any indiscriminating signs on it but still clearly nothing that any lowly fisherman would ever own.

The man with the bat pin opened the letters, read all three of them and chuckled again. Then he nodded and one of the Gold cloaked guards stepped behind the fisherman, tugged his head back with one hand and took a dirk into his other hand.

The man struggled in the grip of the two thugs that had hold his arms for the last time and then stopped after his throat was cut open and he bled out.

The man with the bat pin folded the letters and shoved them into his jerkins, then he shoved over the bag with the coins from the fisherman and nodded when the man that killed said fisherman took the bag for himself.

"Do with him as you did with the others." was all that the man with the bat pin then said with a last look to the fisherman's cooling corpse.

"Yes Ser, one more for the pots."

Ser Oswell grimaced slightly when the thugs that presented as City guards said that but nodded nonetheless and gave each of the six of them fifty stags. He watched as three of them quickly disrobed the corpse and then the one that killed the fisherman now cut the corpse into pieces while two others brought two empty buckets and two full of Water.

Poor fisherman was Ser Oswells thought, nay spy would be the correct word of course but still, poor man. Parts would be meat for the pots'o'brown and the head and arms and other recognizable parts would be thrown in a bag with Stones and then into the Blackwater.

Since Aerys had given him the command to gather some men and to stop all spys and to make then disappear, Ser Oswell of the Kingsguard had done so and while he had hoped that this unpleasant command would end with the Kings death a good week later, the new King had just smiled at him and asked him to continue with this task.

Ser Oswell stopped his chuckling, disrobed himself of the gear of the Gold cloaks and threw the white cloak over his simple shirt and jerkins and then sighed tiredly when he stepped outside of the Gatehouse.

The evening gave already way for the night to come and he made his way fast through the parts of River Row up to the Red Keep.

The King would surely be interested in these letters. Briefly the White Bat thought about the many men and sometimes even women and boys that he and his small band of disguised thugs had killed since he had received his orders from the King Aerys. Better not to think of it, he thought to himself. An bitter chuckle came from his mouth, the honor of the Kingsguard were his vows once and now, what was he now?  
Better not to think of it he told himself when he finally reached the Gates of the Red Keep. King Rhaegar would like to read the letters and he, Oswell himself would not think anymore about how he had gotten them.

He was a Kingsguard first, all other vows were second to that. He nodded to himself and promised his inner self that all would soon be good and that the spys deserved it.

Ser Oswell then hurried to show these new letters to his King.

.....

Rhaegar Targaryen looked over the assembled Lords of the Stormlands and his own Courtiers with a solemn smile on his beautiful and young face. Steffon Baratheon was sitting on his right side and the chair on the left side of the young King was left empty as a sign that it would he the place for the King's mother. All Lords had been sad earlier on about the news that Kingmother Rhaella was not only too unwell to receive any visitors but also to be at the feast for the Stormlanders itself.

Even though, or was still a bit merry but good feast. The King himself had played two Stormlander songs on his harp as a welcome gesture and a few bards later played rather dignified songs about forgotten times and lost loves.

Jolly songs would have to wait for the coronation festivities, after the old King's remains have placed where they belonged, that the young King told his loyal Stormlander Lords and all had nodded to his words.

Now, the feast was already going on for a couple of hours, now Rhaegar grew rapidly uninterested and leaned closer the his kin.

"Lord Steffon, i would like to excuse myself to see my mother once more and then take to bed. The last couple of days were rather stressful and tomorrow will surely be even more so, with the sad task that i will have to do. I will ask you to oversee this feast in my place and to make sure that it ends in a reasonable time."

Steffon Baratheon looked startled but only for a moment, he had clearly not expected Rhaegars words for they had been talking the whole time before about the different Stormlander Lords and their quirks.

Non the less, he quickly got up from his chair and bowed low to the King and around him all others followed to do so too.

The young King only nodded, gave signal for all to resume their places and stood up from his chair to took his leave. Before he could do so though, the Lord of the Stormlands came close to him to remind him of his earlier words.

"Your Grace, the visit to Tywin, it still stands, right? I surely can visit him in the time before the entombment, right?"

"Of course, just like i promised you earlier." Rhaegar said with a gentle smile.

The Lord of the Stormlands nodded, bowed once more and then stepped back to his own Lords and while the King left with Ser Gerold as his loyal Guard, Steffon Baratheon ordered his Lords and everyone else to finish their eating and drinking for the next day should be done sober and full of respect and not start with drunken merriment.

........

Outside of Queen Rhaellas rooms, the young King turned to his loyal White Bull and told him to visit the Lion Lord. Ser Gerold was not happy about the command to leave his King but followed the order and left young Rhaegar to visit his mother. That was not the real plan of the King though. As soon as his White Guard was away, the young Targaryen stepped away from the doors to his mother's room and went from there to a second hallway, stepped into a small library and closed the door behind himself. Then he went to one of the full shelves and opened the secret door behind it.

It was time to visit Marwyn and see if he finally would be work for true of if he would still try to resist his King. Rhaegar had already lost eight Red Cloaks to Marwyns attempts of trying to trick him, the King. The young Targaryen thought to himself of how much he would hate to hurt this useful Maester but if all the Red Cloak volunteers would be gone and Marwyns attempts would still bring incorrect results, he might become unpleasant to the Maester.

........

A scowl was on the face of the White Bull while he looked over to the bed upon which the Lion Lord was laying in his drug induced slumber in fresh wrappings. The maester just finished in cleaning everything up again and was heating a bit of Red Wine on the fire. He looked over to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard with a blank face, while on the the inside he tried to find any weakness in his opponent.

Ser Gerold looked away from the drugged Tywin Lannister and his gaze meet the one of this insolent Maester. He would ask his King for the pleasure to end not only the murderer of Aerys Targaryen but also this Maester.

He inwardly shuddered. He had met too many Maesters in his childhood that were all too curious by far and would go by any means necessary to fulfill their curiosity. The White Bull thought about the other Maester, the one that his King kept now far below the official Red Keep.

Deep down, in the secret chambers of Maegor and later Bloodraven, was now Marwyn. Gerold thought about how he had warned his King to not leave this dangerous man alone there in a room full of dangerous books and magical things but his young King had just looked him into the eyes and reminded him that the magic in the room could not be made so that it could be used to hurt a Targaryen. The White Bull hoped desperately that his young King was right about that but still vowed to himself that he would never let his King come close again to this Marwyn, this damned dark Wizard, without the King protected by all of the Kingsguard.

Maesters, they all were not really trustworthy in his opinion. The Lord Commander snorted and his gaze turned sharper and more calculating while he looked at the Maester in front of him. This one here, this one that helped the Lion but did nothing to help the Dragon, might be even worse than the dark wizard down below in the secret rooms.

The dark wizard Marwyn was at least someone that the young King was curious off but also know to be careful with, but this Maester Hother here, this one was not someone that the good King was careful with. Ser Gerold thought to himself though that this Lionsaving Maester was dangerous too. Not like the dark wizard Marwyn but surely in a different way. He could feel it in his bones, that this Maester was untrustworthy, was maybe more dangerous than the first look could tell.

After they had found the corpse of the prince murdering mistress in her Cell, the morning after King Aerys 's death, he himself had asked the Lannister guards who had killed her, who had broke her neck and all had answered that it had been the strange Maester. A few guards had even told him, the White Bull, that this Maester had carried the treacherous Lion form the Cell where the murderous Lannister had killed Aerys, to the other Cell. They told all that rather reluctantly but after some beatings, they all told the same Story.

The White Bull looked hatefully from the still blanckfaced Maester over to the drugged Lion and then back to the Maester and promised himself to find out the secrets of this strange man that saved murderous Hands but not poor and rightful Dragon Kings. All Maesters kept secrets, that he learned in his childhood and that had kept him leary of them throughout his life. He would ask his King to allow him to find out the secrets of this Maester.

........

If this damn Lord Commander would only finally go. Hother had barely managed to hide his just arrived Raven when the Lord Commander had entered the rooms of Lord Tywin, to watch the nightly cleaning of the wounds as he said.

Less than a few moments earlier the Raven had arrived, the Raven that Hother had sent a day ago to find his old friend. He had not even had the Chance to unwrap the small letter when he had heard the doors from the Solar opened and thus could only shove his unhappy Raven in the Lord's privy and told him to stay quiet.

That was barely done when the Lord Commander then already opened the door to the bedroom and had stepped inside and since then the damned White Bull annoyed him with his presence and had brought so much unrest to his patient that he had to drug him again. Hother forced himself to show no emotion on his face but instead to look unfazed. This seemed to make the White Knight only more scowling though. If only this Kingsguard would just finally go away. Shouldn't he watch over his precious King right now, Hother thought to himself.

Just when the Maester opened his mouth to speak though, the door to the bedroom opened and a servant stepped inside to tell the Lord Commander that the King asked for him. In the blink of an eye the scowl that Ser Gerold had on his face for the whole time gave way for a restrained but near happy smile and he left without any further look to the other people in the room.

The servant stepped forward then and took the dirtied cloth and wrappings in the buckets from Hothers hands, left the room too and closed the door behind himself.

Hother waited for a few moments before he opened the door to the privy and let out his Raven. He finally unwrapped the small letter.

There was the answer that he had hoped for. The Maester's eyes looked to his patient. Tomorrow they would go, no matter what, tomorrow they would leave the King's Keep. He and this wounded Lion and Hother silently prayed in his mind that they both would survive this too, even if it was just to spite these damn Dragons.

Tomorrow.

..........  
Tywin's PoV

The Raven had arrived barely a few moments before they both had heard the door to his Solar being opened and his Maester had then thrown this Raven into the Privy and told it to be silent.

He had looked at his Maester then in disbelief, as if the Raven would really understood that command. Before he could tell his Maester though, the door to the bedroom opened and Gerold Hightower stepped inside.

Tywin felt the hate rising in his heart, so fast and so hot, as if a fire had started inside his body.

Gerold Hightower, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and the next man whose life he would end if only he would get the chance to do so.

Hightowers presence was like a slap in the face, like another fist in his jaw for Tywin.

This damned smug, arrogant bull headed Kingsguard watched as the Maester changed his, Tywins cloth and wrappings and as he was cleaned by the Maester, still too helpless and weak to assist in any necessary way. Tywin felt Hightowers eyes on his wounds, even when they had been rewrapped, felt the eyes on his weak and naked body when he had been cleaned before, with an even worse intensity and the Lion hated this helpless feeling.

In less then two days, this damn Oldtown born White clad bastard would enjoy it to kill him, Tywin knew that but damn if he himself would not manage to get his own claws into the White Bull. He had killed Aerys with his teeth and he would try his best to take a bite out of the Bull too.

Tywin started to growl a bit at these thoughts and felt his jaw, his broken jaw becoming painful again. He cursed inside his head, damn Bull and his godforsaken strength. No bite out of the smug White Kingsguard then, even that he had taken from him, even this chance. To all seven hells with the Kingsguard. Tywin tried to growl again but it hurts his jaw even more and his hands tried to hold his face out of pure instinct. He forced himself not to show pain to Hightower, he forced himself not to try and clench his teeth and he forced himself nor to show anger to the seven damned Lord Commander.

The Maester was finally finished with the care for his damned weak body and Tywin reminded himself that the Maester himself disliked the White Bull too. Before he would be thrown into this farce of a fight against Hightower, he would have to ask the Maester to find a nice painful poison, for afterwards. Something that would rot the damn Bull from the inside out maybe.

Even if he, Tywin himself would not be able to witness that with his own eyes anymore then, he would still like to go to his death with the knowledge that Hightower would follow in such a way.

And he was sure that this Maester would do it, he was an astoundingly resourceful man. Surely he would knew a few interesting and painful poisons. Tywin decided that he would ask him before he himself would be thrown in front of the King to die.

These thoughts entertained the Lannister Lord in such a way that he calmed down enough for the Maester to force some liquid down his throat and after he swallowed all down, Tywin felt tired again.

His last thought before he fell asleep, was that he would really like to see the Kingsguard rotting near Aerys.

..................................

Don't mind our dear Lion's slightly manic thoughts, he still is weak and helpless and hates that and he cannot even snarl like he wants to do because Ser Gerold had broken his jaw a few visits earlier.

Tywin HATES being this helpless.

Hother had not told him anything about his Raven though, in case that you have wondered. Our Lion will find out more when he is awake again.


	19. Kingsguard 274

Lord Commander Gerold Hightower.  
In King's Landing

Ser Barristan Selmy, in King's Landing

Ser Oswell Whent, in King's Landing

Ser Jonothor Darry, currently riding with Connington and hundred Gold Cloaks towards Casterly Rock

Ser Gwayne Gaunt, in King's Landing

Ser Harlan Grandison, sent to Jon Arryn.

Ser..... ?...., had been hurt by Tywin when the Hand had been arrested and died a couple of days later because of these wounds. Was already an older Knight, around the age of Ser Grandison. This is the place that Rhaegar will give to Arthur Dayne, who is currently sent to the Martells.


	20. Helpers in the Red Keep

It was amazing how far the connections of his old friend reached into the Red Keep servants, thought Hother to himself after he reread the letter and then looked to the young Goldcloak in front of him.

Since he had been more or less been forced to be the caretaker of Tywin Lannister here in the Tower of the Hand, he and his patient had always had been brought the morning meal by the servant woman Rosie, the second meal by the servant Hugh and the evening meal by the servant Alyn. Always there had been a Goldcloak in the open door too, standing and watching how the servants had put the tray with food on a table and then took the bucket with used wound wrappings and soiled cloths with them. All, Goldcloaks and servants alike had been silent the whole time though.

Only the servant Alyn had spoken about the irritating behavior of the Lord Commander once but was silent all the other times before and afterwards too.

Hother had resigned himself to the knowledge that all servants and Gold Cloaks would be spys for the King and tried nothing with them. Neither negotiating, nor intimidation, nor any kind of bribe. He had simply looked for a different way out.

He gazed again onto the words of the letter that his good Raven Arnvia had brought him from Omaro Degarro and then his eyes found the Goldcloak again.

"I have known your father for many years now, he had never told me that one of his sons is a mere Goldcloak here in the City and Red Keep and one of his former wives works in the same place as servant."

The young Goldcloak only grinned though and winked. The servant woman Rosie though, she stepped nearer and put the tray on the table as always before she then went to the bed upon which Tywin Lannister was laying awake. Hother stepped forward to stand near her.

"He had no reason to tell you that, did he?"

"Of Course not, i am just curious about your reasons and the ones of Omaro too."

"He is a Bravoosi, all reasons are business for my former husband."

Hother nodded in agreement to the Servants words while the woman looked with critical and assessing eyes to the Lion Lord.

"Can he walk?" she asked Hother in a tone that suggested that she herself wouldn't believe so.

The Maester stepped even closer to her and then they both looked to the still weak Lion. Lord Lannister glared back with a rather fierce gaze.

Hother had to tell the truth of the Lions health to his both helpers though.

"I trained with him for four days now, every day he walks three times around this room after every meal and it is getting better but no, he is not really able to do a real walk or be useful for our escape in any necessary way."

Tywin Lannister just opened his mouth, surely to speak his mind about the way that the Maester had just described him, when the servant woman turned to Hother and thus ignored the Lion Lord completely.

"If he cannot walk on his own for more than a few slow steps, you will have to carry him yourself. I cannot do it and my son will not do it, do you understand that Maester? We can help you to escape but Lannister here will slow you down and so he will slow all of us down. If we are in danger because of him, my son and i will leave you alone with him, no matter what happens to you. Understood?"

Hother looked from the woman to his angry looking patient and then back to the woman and nodded.

"Do not worry about him, i will carry him and if the situation becomes too dangerous, then you can leave the two of us alone and get yourself to safety."

The woman only nodded and then told Hother to wait for them and that she and her son would come back when all nobles and most of the Guards would be in the City in Baelors Sept for the entombment ceremony, late in the evening.

Hother just nodded and thanked the both of them and the woman took the buckets and left the Lion's bedroom, followed as always by the Goldcloak.

Hother bolted the door after they left and then went over to Tywin Lannister. The Lord looked at the same time curious and enraged.

"This servant treated me like i.."

"This servant, Lord Lannister, will help us to escape from here and just because i have a friendship to her former husband. She has no care about your reaction to the ways that she spoke of you and she has every right to treat you and i the way that she did."

"And your reason to care for my safety Maester, you never told me that?"

"I dislike the Lord Commander and the King too much to let them have their triumph over you and besides that, i hate the thought that all my hard work to heal you are for naught. Do you really think that i would have wasted so much of my potions and healing equipment on you, only for you to be killed in a mummers show of a trial by combat?"

Lord Tywin looked only partly surprised about that answer and a slight smirk showed on his lips.

"Not that this dreaming boy would let you survive for long afterwards anyway."

Hother nodded to that.

Both were silent after that and looked at each other for a few moments and finally Lannister started speaking once again.

"How great are our Chances that these two will not sell us to the King in just these moments?"

Hother just sighed.

"We will have to hope that she is still loyal to her former husband and his friendship with me. Omaro always stayed friends with his former loved ones though. But then there are no absolute guarantees for success in life anyway, or are there my Lord ?."

Tywin agreed to that with a snort. No there were never any real guarantees in life. He started to eat from the tray in silence then, his mind too far away in the lost past.

Maester Hother looked away from the carefully chewing Lion and went over to where his Raven was sleeping. He stroked her feathers gently and woke her up this way.

The Raven looked up to her Master and Hother crumbled a bit of bread for her and while she started to pick up the pieces, he carefully bound a new letter around her leg.  
He stroked her once more and after the Raven had eaten the last of her food, she spread her wings and flew right out of the near window.

"Are you not afraid that the Raven will be seen, it is already early morning?"

The Maester turned back to the Lion Lord and denied. His little Raven would be too fast and too high and now it would not matter anymore either way. The letter would work as a decoy if she was found by the wrong person. Only one other knew the correct code to understand the true words of the letter and to everyone else the words would read absolutely different.

Lord Lannister looked more curious than ever but Hother made clear that he would not talk about it anymore.

And to the morning went in it normal routine. After they both had eaten their fill, Maester Hother made Tywin Lannister walk his three rounds in the room and then the time for the second wound treatment was already there. After that was done, the second meal was brought by the male servant Hugh and after that was eaten, another three rounds.

It was late afternoon when Hother cleaned and then rewrapped his patients wounds once more but this time he did it a bit tighter than it felt comfortable for Lord Lannister and with double as much wrappings as normal. Tywin winced but accepted the necessity of the higher protection he gained for his wounds through this way and dressed himself in his most simple clothing.

Then both waited for the next meal, the last one here, to come. It didn't though. Instead the servant Alyn came inside with the young Goldcloak from the morning following behind him and the servant actually grinned. In his hands he did not carry the usual tray of food but instead a tray with shaving utensils and scissors.

Lord Lannister balked for a few moments but then gave in with a disgusted sigh. Hother had way less problems, it was only hair after all. After less then half of an hourglass was finished, both the Maester and the Lannister Lord lost all the hair on their heads. The servant then opened a tiny bottle that was also on the tray and rubbed the content on both of the far too white hairless skullskins. It was nutoil and it darkened the white skin which had earlier been covered by hair.

Tywin Lannister promised himself in his mind to have that done to the damn dragons too. This embarrassing treatments brought out the pettiness in his heart and mind.

Finally, the Lion Lord and the Maester looked really different after loosing their hear and having their skin then darkend.

Only Hothers Maester robe and Tywins simple but still fine clothing showed that they were still not simple smallfolk. The young Guard then told them that they would later receive new clothes.

"Alyn will take everything away now but he will come back later with simple servant clothing for the both of you. I will stand Guard here for the next three hours, till the whole nobility and the King will ride to the Great Sept. Mother says that it is good that we will have this chance to help you Maester. All other days, there are absolutely no Chances for this escape to work but because everyone is busy with the preparations for the entombment ceremony tonight, most people and nobles and Guards are just too distracted too care for me changing my Schedule and a few more Wagons of wine than normal coming and going from the Keep today."

Lord Lannister was the one who was sceptical enough to ask for more information but the young Guard just shook his head and went out of the bedroom to the Solar. He then closed the door behind himself.

A good hour later Alyn came back and he carried two buckets, filled with clothes.

While Hother took off his robe and removed his pouches from his robe, then redressed himself and after that helped the Lion Lord, Alyn talked.

He told the both of them that the Stormlander Lords had arrived the day before and that on this morning the Lord Baratheon had puked for hours and could not leave the bed for the whole day. The King cared for his mother's Cousin and it looked as if the Stormlord would be able to attend the Ceremony tonight, though he was still weak.

Lord Lannister had looked sharply to the servant while he told all that but Alyn just grinned.

"He had asked the King yesterday to see you this afternoon and so the King promised him that and the Stormlord was satisfied yesterday. Our Silver King just then had to make sure that his Uncle would be too sick today to care about visiting you. Our King is a smart one, isn't he? "

The servant sounded quite admiring of the young King to Tywin Lannisters ears.

"Why are you helping us now then Alyn?" asked the clearly curious Maester.

"In all these days here, you never gave away any intention to be willing to help me or Lord Lannister, so why now?"

Alyn just laughed.

"Rosie is my sister and this young Goldcloak here, Matthus is my nephew. Well, halfsister and halfnephew but that does not really matter. We share our mother who cares about who our fathers were. But you are right, i would not have cared about your or that Lions destiny.

Do not get me wrong, i like you Maester Hother and i know that you never were stuck up but always helped the poor ones in the City too in the years that you lived here, without charging anything for it. Makes me really like you, it really does.

Still, i wouldn't have helped you avoid what ever happens to you, if not then yesterday i got the message from my sister's former husband.

He asked me to help free his old friend from the King and after i talked with Rosie and Matthus and they told me that they would do it, i thought that it would likely be a good idea to help them. And surely the Lord Lannister knows the prize for it too, right?"

The former Hand growled but then pressed his lips together and nodded.

Hother had read the letter aloud for the Lion Lord many hours ago and while even the richest man of Westeros swallowed at the named prize, he had reluctantly agreed to it. That had been the coded letter that Hother then had sent away with his Raven.

A sum of two hundred thousand Gold Dragons for each of the helpers in the Red Keep and one and a half million Gold Dragons for Omaro Degarro himself.

Tywin Lannister winced just when he now thought about it and the grinning Servant Alyn made him angry enough that he wanted to kill him but since he had no other choice, Tywin forced himself to stay peaceful and silent about all that. At least till he would be in a powerful position again, that he promised himself.

Alyn smirked even more when he saw the Lannister Lord's face, as if he could read the thoughts and found them funny.

"I like the new King, you know, i really like him but i like Gold even more and for so much Gold, no King could ever have more power over me.

So no, i help the former Hand, get rich for that and spent the rest of my life comfortable in the free Cities. That is the reason why i am helping you."

Tywin Lannister sighed after hearing these words and could reluctantly agree to at least admire the forward looking mind of this helper. Hother chuckled slightly. Business sense was likely the only way of thoughts that the Lannister Lord really understood.

Now they all had to wait for the time when most of the Court would finally leave for the Ceremony in the Great Sept.

Then ......


	21. Leaving the Tower

Hother looked out of the window, down into the Great Yard and saw the massive amount of assembled Nobles and Guards, most of them all on horses but quite a few of the Guards as footmen too.

The King was riding away from the mass of Nobles towards the Tower of the Hand and by his side was the pale-looking Steffon Baratheon, who had to clearly concentrate himself and force himself to not shake too much so that he not does fall off his horse. Behind the both of them were four White Guards on horses too and all six stopped at the Tower and got off their horses, Lord Baratheon with quite some difficulties.

They stepped inside of the Tower and at that moment, Hother stepped away from the windows and quickly went over to Lord Tywin, all the while cursing heavily.

"Damn them all, they are ruining our plans. Quick, put these old nightshirt on and get back into the bed and do your best not to glare but to look weak and sick.

Tywin glared at the cursing Maester but quickly tugged the sweaty Nightshirt over his simple clothing, laid down in his bed and tugged the covers than over his body.

He wanted to ask the Maester what they would do about their bald heads but in the same moment Hother already bound some wrappings around his head and secured them. They could already hear the door to the Solar being opened when the Maester shoved a peasant cap upon his own head, took a cup of water from the table and threw it in Tywin Lannisters face, so that the wrappings on the head were damp too and then Hother barely managed to get back to the window when already the door to the bedroom was opened.

Three man stepped inside, the King, Steffon Baratheon and Lord Commander Hightower.

The King himself looked regal and young but powerful at the same time. His lithe and tall figure was clad in a black polished armor, large Ruby gemstone brooches were holding his black silk cape on his shoulders and a headband made from blackened steel with eighteen rubies in it was on his head. His beautiful face looked nearly calm but Hother could see that the lips of King Rhaegar were pressed together and a vein was bulging slightly on his left temple.

Lord Baratheon, though still really pale and sick looking in his face, was still cutting beside that also a splendid figure. He too was wearing mostly black, not as armor but as shirt and jerkins, as breeches and boots and his short cape was black too but with large golden stag brooches on his shoulders. He slightly swaying but still managed to look determined.

Ser Gerold was of course clad fully in white and his face was the easiest to read. He looked angry and his hands were clenching.

Lord Steffon stepped away from the two other men and to the bed of Lord Tywin. His eyes, though red and tired, still were clear and bright when he looked at his old friend. He clearly felt sad for how his oldest friend looked.

"Tywin, i wanted to visit you earlier this day and talk with you but i must have been drinking too much yesterday or eaten something wrong, i was terrible sick throughout the whole night and most of this day and now our King wishes me by his side for my Cousins entombment.

But later, when we all are back here, surely we can talk about all. You look as if clearly quite a lot brought you to your current place. Have you been attacked and only retaliated and then things got out of order? You must have had a reason for what you did and there might be something.."

King Rhaegar stepped forward hastily and spoke loudly to interrupt Lord Baratheon.

"Uncle, we all will talk in the morrow with Lord Lannister and he of course knows that too. Now we all have to ride to the Great Sept, surely you want to honor my father with me, right?"

The Lord of Storm's End looked as if he wanted a bit more time with Lord Lannister but in the End he agreed to come back for more conversation in the morning. He was still pale and shaking after all and would need all his energy for the coming hours of ceremonies that Rhaegar had planned and told him about earlier on.

And so, with a last intense look to his old friend, Lord Baratheon nodded and left the room.

The young King was standing in front of the bed and his indigo eyes glanced up and down the laying Lion Lord.

"Since when does Lord Tywins head been covered in wrappings too?"

Hother answered that his patient had recovered badly from being hit by the Lord Commander and had often banged his head since then, mostly when he stumbled around. He also was still feverish and...

The King stopped the Maesters explanation and just told him to make sure that for the next morning Lord Tywin would look halfway healthy and strong enough to stand for trial and later for the combat.

"Your Grace, you just had promised Lord Baratheon that he would be able to talk with my patient in the morning."

The young King smiled gently at the Maester when he answered.

"My mother's Cousin will of course have ample time to speak to Lord Lannister during the trial and he will see and recognize that Lord Tywin here is truly the murderer of my dear father. No need for my still so unwell Uncle to waste his time beforehand, do you not agree Maester?"

Hother nodded and forced himself to look solemn and to not show his true thoughts.

The King turned around, stopped shortly before Ser Gerold and looked at him with narrowed eyes and then left the room.

The White Bull looked over to the Lannister Lord and his wrapped head, the wrappings clearly damp looking and the bluish and purplish tint on one half of his face and frowned. Just when he opened his mouth though, he was called by his King from the next room, snorted then once more and then left the bedroom and closed the door behind himself.

Hother and his patient both listened how three men left the Solar and then that door was closed too.

The two men waited a few moments and then the Maester went over to the window and looked out. He could see that the King and Lord Baratheon and three Kingsguards left the Tower of the Hand and got on their Horses. One horse was still bound to the rail at the Towers outer wall and one Kingsguard was still somewhere in the Tower.

Hother cursed anew but only mildly for he could see that the White Bull was by his Kings side and Ser Barristan too. The last Whiteguard with the King was wearing a helmet with a bat in it and that meant that the White Knight left in the Tower must be Ser Gwayne Gaunt, at least if Alyn had the correct information about that too.

The Maester then watched when finally the King and his many companions rode through the inner yard and then the Great Gate to the City opened and more than hundred men and horses and about the same amount of men on foot went through.

Hother quickly turned to his patient who already had disposed himself of his Nightshirt and was now trying to get the wrapping from his head.

"No, leave them on. I will wrap a second layer around your head as protection and here, this you will have to take in your mouth but carefully. It will stabilize your jaw a bit better."

With these words he shoved five small pieces of cloth into Lord Tywins hands and grabbed some rolled up wrappings himself and then added a second layer around the Lion's head.

Tywin Lannister looked at the few pieces of linen in his hands and then with a disgusted sigh, he opened his mouth and shoved them into his mouth and then to the side of his broken jaw. The Maester gave him a few more pieces and a small, fingerthick piece of smooth wood which both man then fitted together into the Lion's mouth in such a way that the jaw was really puffered from the inside.

Lord Tywin had now his whole mouth filled with linen cloth and a piece of wood and it was so full that he just so could close his mouth. Hother then wrapped his head from top of his skull, down along his jaws and up to the top again, three whole times.

He could only breath heavily through his nose now and inside of his mind, Lord Lannister entertained the thoughts to have the damned Hightower wrapped up in such a way too. The Maester had told him though beforehand that they must be careful to make sure that the jaw stay put and how lucky he, Tywin had been anyway that the White Bulls jawbreaker fist had not absolutely rearranged the Lion's whole face.

Tywin had not felt lucky then a couple of days ago but he had seen broken and displaced jaws in his life and thus knew that it could have really been worse. He had a broken jaw that had still stayed where it belonged naturally, he could talk and eat as long as he was careful and chewed only on the healthy side and the food was soft boiled. It really could have been worse. Still, he thought to himself when he felt the inside of his mouth becoming dryer and the cloth inside it becoming damper, still will be nice to wrap up the Lord Commander after he, Tywin himself had used the White Bull as a sparring pole too.

While the Lion Lord still entertained himself with his thoughts about revenge, the door had opened and the Coldcloak Matthus and his mother came inside.

"Uncle Alyn is downstairs in the Guards room with Ser Gaunt and the other Guards. He had brought wine, spiked with some of fathers little gifts. Father told me that you gave him the recipe for this little gift years ago and he swears upon it."

Young Matthus grinned while he told that but his mother looked disapproving to Hother. If it was about the wine or that Matthus told that, the Maester had no clue but he also cared not enough about her reasons to ask her.

Hother stepped to the bed, turned around and then asked the Lion Lord to put his arms around his neck. Lord Lannister frowned slightly but then got up from the bed, went to the Maester, put his arms around the Maester's neck and them felt himself being hoistered up by Maester Hother. The damn Goldcloak grinned unashamedly and even the woman looked slightly entertained at the sight of the Lion riding piggyback.

The three of them then left the bedroom, then the Solar and then carefully made their way downstairs. Hother was breathing heavily with the Lion on his back but he was too stubborn to show any weakness and just shifted his grip on his patient a bit.

When they were finally on the bottom of the staircase and a grinning Alyn came out of the Guards room and stepped towards them.

"The wine worked wonderful, they dropped down and were asleep before they all could really finish their wine. Really really fast working sleeping potion, this gift of yours Maester. Come now, time to get the both of you out of the Keep then."

Alyn lead the way out of the Tower, Hother with the Lion on his back followed directly behind him and after Hother, the servant Rosie and her son carefully watched their backs. They all had to be really careful of course, even though it was early evening and many people had gone with the King to Baelors Sept, there were still enough servants and guards left in the Red Keep that it could become problematic.

They were in luck though and reached the Kitchen buildings on the side of the Great Yard without being stopped. Near the kitchen buildings were a couple of heavily built carriages with huge wine barrels on it.

Alyn then lead them to one of the three carriages that had already horse hitched to it and then asked Hother to help the Lion inside one of the three empty barrels at the end of the wagon and to get inside of the next one. Rosie climbed inside the third one of the huge barrels and then Alyn and Matthus closed them.

The three in the barrels felt the carriage starting to move and all three then hoped that all would go well. Alyn was stopped at the Great Gate but since Matthus was beside him and told his comrade Goldcloaks that they were meant to bring the wine barrels to the Baelors Sept on order of the King, they went through without further delay.

Alyn steared the carriage down to the City till he was sure that the Guards of the Red Keep could not see them anymore and then stopped at a corner. He and Matthus quickly tugged the three barrels filled with humans down from the carriage and then they both opened them. The Goldcloak helped his mother out and Hother and Alyn did the same for the Lion Lord. Then Matthos quickly gave each of the empty barrels a forcefull shove and they rolled away till they were in the shadows. He was sure that in the morning they were broken apart and the wood was already burned in one of the many smallfolk stoves.

Then the young Goldcloak hopped back onto the the Carriage, Alyn followed him and the both of them went back on the way to Baelors Sept but with three barrels less. Alyn had made sure to get a headstart and so it was that he was nearly at the Great Sept when finally the other wagons filled with wine barrels left the Red Keep, their drivers all already quite drunk because Rosie had started to fill their cups hours ago before this all started.

The Captain on the Goldcloaks at the Gate to the City had cursed them all out and told them that the one honest and good driver that started without delay would surely be given honors by their noble King but that he, the Captain himself would make that the King would hear about the other drivers drunkenness and lateness.

Meanwhile, Rosie had lead Maester Hother to an old shed and they both helped Lord Lannister to empty his mouth and then they unwrapped his head. After that was done, Rosie took all the linen cloth and wrappings and put them to one of the stone walled corners of the shed and made fire there to burn them.

She looked outside of the old shed while the linen burned to ashes and after all was done, she gave order for Hother to follow her. The Maester helped the Lion on his back once more and followed the woman for nearly half an hour till they finally reached a small house near the Mud Gate.

They would have to lay low inside of the house and then would make their next step tomorrow. All three of them had been lucky and they knew it too, that it seemed as if everyone in the City was right now at Baelors Sept and that they thus had not been stopped anywhere on their way. Hopefully the next day would go well too.


	22. Escaping from King's Landing

The King, all his guests and the countless people of the City that were all in and near the Great Sept, had just finished listening to the Ceremony prayer of the High Septon when the first wagon full with wine barrels arrived in front of the Sept. The two men, one of them a young City Guardsman, who had brought the wagon, told the Guards outside of the Great Sept that the other wagon's drivers had been enjoying their cups a bit too much but should come just a bit later.

The merriment of the countless commons was great then when a good half hour later then the other Wagons came and though the occasion was actually a sad one, the most people were in jubilation.

Rhaegar's eyes took in the smallfolk, the merchants and the Lords, poorly dressed and richly dressed, they were all the same for him. His. They were his people, they belonged to him. He would bound them to himself through belief and love and adoration, through food and gifts and if necessary, also through blood and fire.

Finally he had put the last of his father to rest, his ashes to the Crypt in front of all the eyes in this City, his remains finally out of sight and soon out of mind too.

Only the Lion would have to be done away in a few hours for his fathers name and death and then, finally then he, Rhaegar himself will have cut off the last shackles that had bound him to his fathers smallness and the thousand and one eyes that looked into his mind years ago, can finally become effective again. The most thorough Hand of his blood had opened so many opportunites in front of him already in his dreams and now with nearly all important players coming to him their King, he would enfold them in his game.

They would see him as the young and beautiful but unknowing one but they would play by his want and he not by theirs. The blood in his veins and the eyes in his mind had cleared all doubts in him. Only the Lion had been a liability and even that had worked out to his Chance, sooner than he would have wanted for sure but still to his benefit.

He looked to the Cousin of his parents, his new Hand. Steffon Baratheon had grown paler throughout the two hour long Ceremony of the Urn lay of Aerys. Rhaegar smiled to himself, the Stormblood truly made for stubborn headed men. The Lord of Storm's End had promised to stand by his new Kings side for the lay of the old King and thus he did, even though it had obviously drained him of much of his strength. Rhaegar could admit to himself in his mind that he had been a mite bit to generous with his poison, but Stormlords were tough and in a few days the head of the House Baratheon would be returned to his full Glory. He would just be not fully fit to stop the slaughter of the Lion, would not be fit enough to stop a grieving son from seeking justice through the gods wisdom for a murdered father.

The young King turned his eyes from his kinsman and his gaze wandered over all the people around him once again. They all were his. His to protect and his to make use of. A Dragon has no use for other predators in his lands.

In a few hours, one of the most dangerous intruders would fall to ruin for trying to hold a position that was only meant for dragonblood.

......................

In the end he must have fallen asleep, even though he had not wanted it. The exhaustion that came from the flight out of the Red Keep had been just too much for him and his still too weak body. Therefore Tywin Lannister felt himself being gently shook awake by his Maester and forced himself to open his sleep heavy lids with reluctance.

Maester Hother bid him to swallow down the content of two tiny bottles and then the Lion felt the numbness of the Maesters potions spread inside of his pained body. Blessed numbness, pain-free for the next couple of hours at least. He looked up to his maesters face, hairless as his own and nearly completely shadowed in the darkness as it was, he still could see the dark glittering eyes looking back into his own hazel ones.

He nodded as soon as he felt himself devoid of any pain and the maester helped him up and then he grabbed the shoulders, put his arms around the neck and felt himself hoisted up on the back of his maester.

From the most faraway corner of the room, the servant woman watched them and the Lion cursed her in his mind. He could admit to himself that he understood the greed of her, her son, her brother and this unknown husband or former husband of her but that this respectless woman watched him being so helpless still, that brought out his pride. His arms tensed around the maesters neck as reaction to his thoughts and a light growl started deep down in his chest.

"Silence" was he sharply reminded by his carrier and thus the Lion forced himself to swallow down his reaction.

They left the small House in the long hours of the dwindling night, by Tywins guess it might be barely the hour of the Wolf now. The Gates of the City were always closed in these hours and the Lannister Lord felt irritated that neither the woman nor the maester seemed to know that nor care about that.

The Warden of the West had thought that he lost his hair so that he would be seen as a beggar and thus be able to leave with the countless others in the early morning, when the Gates would be open again and the people would be too many, too tightly packed going in and out of the City and thus not all could be clearly identified.

He opened his lips to ask the maester how he hoped that they three would get through the closed Gate, when from around a corner two men quickly stepped towards the small group of three. Tywin nearly did not recognize them, so different did they now look from the last time he had seen them a couple of hours ago.

The servant man and the young Goldcloak were now both devoid of hair too and dressed in threadbare clothing too. Only the woman now looked not like the lowest of smallfolk and had still her hair, while he, the Head of the richest House of Westeros was dressed and done up the same as the three others. He could see the River Gate already, the Mud Gate as it was called by nearly all inhabitants of the City, stood tall and insurmountable less hundred steps in front of the small group. Surely the guards had already seen them too, though the group of five was careful to stay in the shadows of the shoddy houses on the left side. Before the Lion could whisper his thoughts into the ear of the man that carried him though, the woman of their group bid them stop with a barely understandable mumbled word and then she opened a small door in the nearest house and entered with all men then following her. Maester Hother nearly had to crouch to do so with the Lion on his back but still managed to do so quickly.

As soon as all were in the small room, the woman closed the door quietly and then barricaded it swiftly with the help of her brother and son. The maester helped Tywin down from his back and stretched himself with a sigh.

The Lion Lord tried to breath through his lightly opened mouth, for the room smelled horrible and as soon as the three high prized helpers were satisfied with their barricade, they tugged a table away from the middle of the room and then opened a trapdoor in the floor and the stink got even worse.

Tywin Lannister looked up to were the Maester was standing, he could not see him for the whole room only had light from a small high up window through which the barest amount of moonlight was coming in but Tywin could nearly feel the bodyheat of the other man.

"No way" whispered the wounded Lion.

"Why in all hells did you think we needed to loose our hair my Lord?"

"No way i am willing to escape this blasted City through the sewers, do you hear me maester?"

" What did you believe that we would do my Lord? Just walk out of the Gate with you on my back? Why do you think that i had wrapped your wounds with so much more material than normal and so much more tightly?" asked the Maester with annoyance clearly to hear in his Voice.

"I am not willing to escape like.."

The Lord Lannister could not even finish his sentence, when he was grabbed by two pairs of strong hands and he felt the unrelenting but still gentle hands of the maester tilting his head back and then a tiny bottle was at his lips and he swallowed instinctively the content down. Before he could utter any words of protest, a second bottle was at his lips and though he now tried to struggle, he also swallowed this second liquid down too.

He was unconscious before all men stepped away from him.

..............

When the Lion awoke for the next time, he could feel movement even though he was laying in a comfortable bed. He felt furious about the last thing that he had remembered and struggled to sit up.

"Lay still. I have just finished redressing your wounds after i cleaned you thoroughly and i am dead tired. I do not want to care for you now if you are stupid enough to hurt yourself while trying to stand up."

Tywin looked to the Maester after hearing these words and he forced himself to swallow his biting answer.

At least, the Lion Lord thought to himself he would not remember the escape to the sewers this way. Thank the gods for being unconscious for this part. Still, he narrowed his eyes slightly, he did not like to be forced or endure something without being given a chance to say no.

The maester looked at him clearly tiredly but still not unguarded. The Lion looked back at his rescuer with as much neutrality as he could force unto his features.

"How long was i unconscious? How far away are we?"

The maester smirked slightly in answer.

"I have no idea how many leagues away we are right now but our dear Captain has the fastest ship avaible and so i have the good hope that we are far away enough to be untroubled right now. About the time, let me tell you that right now you should have been already dead for more than a day if all had gone like our King had planned it.

When we emerged from the sewer into the river and our two companion helped me with you till we reached the meeting point with Omaros crew, my little surprise in the Hand's Tower finally gave a good cover of our flight."

"What surprise?" asked the curious Lion.

"A small but quite powerful amount of Wildfire went up into flames and colored the top of the Tower of the Hand in green light, i used all extra kindling that i could find to make sure that it would burn for quite some time too. Till they find out that our corpses are not in the rubble, we surely gained a good enough head start. If we are lucky enough, Ser Gerold might have even been the one the was the reason for the fire.

I had arranged the Wildfire to start as soon as someone would open the door to your privy, in the hope that there would someone looking for you there. My hopes fulfilled themselves and the fire will cover that we have disappeared."

Lord Lannister forced himself to not show amusement about that successful trap and in his mind, he hoped that neither Rhaegar nor the damn White Bull were the ones that unloaded the trap. He, the Lion himself wished nothing more than to be the one that would kill the dragon. Wildfire was just not personable enough.


	23. Rage

The King looked at the burnt carcasses of the City Guards and Ser Gaunt with a calm but sad face. Ten golden cloaked men and this one Kingsguard perished in the green fire that turned the Tower of Hand into a burned out, still slightly smoldering ruin.

Behind his sad facade, his mind was already planning again though. The damn fire had burned for nearly a day and then it had been nearly two more days till all the inner rubble was cleared away, hot as it all still was and then and just only then he had the guarantee the damned Lion was not there, burned beyond anything. No, there was nothing of him there and nothing of the maester too.

Ser Barristan had dared to suggest that both had burned to ashes and thus be the reason for no remains to be found but the King knew it better.

Kingsguards should not think after all, they seldom could offer any useful thoughts.  
....................  
...........................  
On the Ship....

The next couple of days after the flight from King's Landing were spent by Lord Tywin and Maester Hother on the Braavosi ship 'Seawife' in ever repeating woundcare and light eating and walking exercise and sleeping. A few times they both heard the warning shouting when other ships tried to come near the 'Seawife' but no ship was as fast as Degarros one and so no other ship could come even close enough to make them stop.

When the 'Seawife' reached the mouth of the Blackwater and took course to the northeast though, Tywin Lannister bitingly asked the Maester to be brought to the Captain Degarro. Hother did so, he was tired and not up for long discussions.  
..

"Why are you not taking the course south? Why is this ship sailing northeast?"

The Lion's voice was calm even though he was so angry with the situation that he found himself in, that he would like to roar like his sigil animal.

Tywin Lannister prided himself with his self-restraint though, for once of course because showing too much emotion meant showing weakness, the other reason for his self-restraint was of course that his jaw was only able to handle normal talking, for shouting or roaring, his jawbones had too much instability due to Gerold Hightower's fist.

Even only thinking about what he would do to the White Bull helped the Lion Lord to endure the pain he was in most of the time nearly as good as Maester Hother's medicine did.

The thoughts of his revenge did nothing to help him now though, when he now was standing in front of the Captain of this ship that brought him away from the Capitol and was currently sailing out of the Blackwater Bay but with the wrong course.

The damned Captain just smirked at his passenger though and then looked to the third man in the Cabin.

"Hother my friend, as you know, i am always happy and honored to be in such a splendid company but i have to chastise you for i fear that you have not cared enough for the most honored Lord Lannister's head injury.  
The most honorable Lord seems to be confused about where i will bring him to safety. Did you not talked to him during the last couple of days and nights that you both had the pleasure to spend on my beautiful girl?"

The Maester looked away from Captain Degarro's smirking face and turned to Tywin Lannister's furious gaze. Hother grumbled something about annoyingly loudmouthed Braavosi Captains and then he looked directly into the Lion's hazelcolored angrily glowing eyes.

"The Captain wants to bring you to Braavos first and only after you have paid him and the three others, only then he will set sail to the Westerlands."

Tywin Lannisters eyes widened slightly at the words of Maester Hother but then he turned his eyes away from the man and fixated his gaze instead on the still smirking Captain. The Lion lifted the healthy side of his mouth to nearly a smile, lopsided and barely there but still a little gesture that was a smile and then he told the Braavosi Captain, that if he wanted to be paid, then he needed to sail them all to the Westerlands, where the gold for the payment was.

Captain Omaro Degarro's smirk turned to a full blown laughter and tears of mirth escaped his eyes. He laughed and laughed, all the while Lord Lannisters lopsided smile turned to a grimace and Maester Hother sighed in forbearance. He finally decided to be the one that would explain his patient the reason for the northeastern course since it seemed as if Omaro just wouldn't stop laughing at all and Lord Lannisters grimace of a face turned ever more frozen.

"Omaro told me that he will bring you to the Iron Bank Mylord, he knows that you have quite a bit of gold in the Bank and he wants it transferred into his own vaults there. And i hope for you that you have enough gold there to pay him and the other three too."

Tywin Lannisters mien looked like it was carved out of Stone and Hother could only hope that the Lion had enough self control to not crunch his teeth together in anger, it would be bad for the Jaw after all.

The Warden of the West turned once more to the still laughing Captain and asked with pure hate in his Voice clearly to hear what would happen if there wasn't enough gold in the Lannister Vault in the Iron Bank.

The Captain stopped his loud laughter and gave his answer with a wide predatory smile.

"Why, i sell you back to your King of course. I might not get quite as much from him for your precious person Mylord but i am sure i would still be satisfied by it."

Lord Lannisters whole body froze while he heard the sure deaththreat. His eyes then narrowed and he looked to the maester near him.

Hother though looked to his old friend and asked with a raspy voice about his own future.

"What would you do with me then Omaro, also sell me to the King?"

"Oh no, Hother you are dear to me and much more worth than to be killed by a Kingsguard. No, the little sleeping drug that i gained through you and your other little creation that Lord Lannister surely also holds dear, the extremely fast working painkiller potion, these two alone already made sure that there are many more options for what to do with you. Especially since i know that you have some more little surprises left and that i always needed you to gain replenishment makes you only more dear to me. I have no plans whatsoever to let your talents going to waste."

"Did you just told me that i am your prisoner now Omaro? "

"You, my friend are my most honored guest, long after Lord Lannister will have left my helpful and friendly ship, whether he does so after he paid me or whether he does so because i have brought him back to his King. You will stay."

The predatory smile on the lips of the Captain grew only wider with his words though his eyes glittered dangerously while he spoke. Hother huffed in annoyance and Lord Lannister expanded his mental list of persons that would die a gruesome death.

.....................  
..................................  
On Dragonstone.....

A young and goldenhaired man laid in half dying and half still living agony on the Stone bed in his Underground room on the Island of Dragonstone.

Just a few days ago the Red priests had arrived on this cursed Island and Gerion who had spent the days since he arrived on the Silver Kings private Island in a little Cell, was then tugged down to the lowest level of the Dragonstone basis and his already torn clothing was tugged of off him and then the Red priests bound him down on the Stone bed and cut open his Belly.

They did not care that he screamed himself hoarse because of the horrible pain, instead they seemed to enjoy his screams. They placed a huge stone egg into his cut open Belly and then one of them cauterized Gerions bleeding wound edges with a white hot glowing knife. The young Lion had prayed for a quick death then.

Now, after sheer endless time of never ending agony, after he had screamed his voicecords to bloody ribbons, he had long stopped praying and only waited helplessly to finally and hopefully die. The only other feeling besides the neverending pain that he still could feel was hate and it burned so hot in his still beating heart as the knife that had burned the edges of his opened Belly wound.

The Stone egg that was laying in his entrails, had started to pulsate some time ago.

Gerion hoped that whatever that meant, it would just kill him and end this horror and the hateful parts in his mind hoped that it would kill the ones that did this to him too.

..........................  
..............................  
On the ship......

The Maester brought the Lion Lord back into their shared Cabin. On their way back they encountered the grinning Alyn and his nephew who did look away from them. Alyn though helped Hother to get the Lion Lord back to their Quarter and even wished them a good night with an ever more impertinent grin while he closed the cabin door from the outside.

The two recently escaped men then listened the noise that gave evidence to the fact that the door was then barred from the outside.

In the small place, Hother was more careful in his handling of the Lannister now that they were alone and he looked into Lord Tywins stony face and saw that even the short walk up and down the stairs had brought the Lion nearly to the end of his still meagre strength.

Though some part of the Lannisters exhaustion surely came from the knowledge of their Captains ruthlessness.

The Maester carefully helped Tywin Lannister to settle down on the lone bed and only then the Lion Lord seemed to take a real breath again. Hother dragged the only chair close to where his patient sat on the bed and settled himself on it.

Both men kept their silence for a while longer. Finally the Maester decided to ask the Lion the most important question.

"Is there enough Gold in the Lannister Vault in the Iron Bank Mylord? Enough to pay Degarro and the other three?"

The Warden of the West said nothing, he only closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And another one and a third one.

Hother waited patiently.

Finally, after many more deep breaths, the Lion Lord opened his eyes again, gazed into the ones of the Maester and nodded once.

The Lannister's lips were pressed into a thin line, though Hother could see that even though his patient was angry beyond words, he still was careful to not put pressure on his weakened jaw but only on the lips themselves.

The Maester snorted in slight amusement.

"Then you should be thankful for that Mylord and if there is more in your Vault, you might be even able to haggle out a deal with the Iron Bank itself, they might be more trustworthy than my sadly disappointing former friend.

I fear Omaro had become addicted to some of my potions. He changed, he changed too much and this kind of mirth and laughter is untypical for him. Just too unusual and uncontrolled in his gestures for it to be normal in a way. How he now behaved was how others in the Capitol did, who took too much of milk-of-the-poppy and added alcohol to it."

The Warden of the West looked to the Maester with a sharp interest in his glittering eyes.

"Can you use it against him? Can you control him then through it?"

The Maester sighed.

"Let me work on it, i am angry enough now for it and sometimes an old friendship must be ended."


	24. Gerion...

I must warn the readers that this chapter contains a bit of body horror.  
...................

He thought often about the first couple of days after the King had drugged him into sleep. When he woke up, he had been already on a small ship for a day and after another whole day on the sea, the ship arrived on Dragonstone. There he had been forced into a Cell and had been given Water and bread and cheese. He tried at first to not eat and drink but after another day his lips were dry and his tongue thick and he gulped down the water and then forced the dried bread and cheese down too.

He was given more Water and even watered Wine the same evening. The next couple of days he was feed thrice a day with thick meat broth and good bread in the mornings, thick Stew and fresh fruit every midday and bread and cheese and boiled eggs every evening. He was given Water and Wine and beer, as much as he wanted every day. The only thing that he was not given was the Chance to clean himself thoroughly or to change his clothing. And he could of course not leave his Cell at all.

Nonetheless, he had thought to himself, the King had clearly given orders to the jailers here on Dragonstone, to treat the captured Lion well enough.

That all changed when the Red Priests arrived on Dragonstone.

...........................  
The Stone egg that was laying in his entrails, had started to pulsate some time ago.

...................

He hated this helplessness even more than the pain.

No that was not true of course. He hated them, those who did this to him, more than anything else but then he hated the pain and then the feeling of helplessness. Yes, that was the correct level and order of his hate.

He felt his breathing became more and more shallow with every hour of agony. Maybe the gods had finally heard his prayers, his half feverish but absolute desperate prayers for death.

His eyes felt so swollen still from his endless crying and his lips felt torn because of dryness and heat. He was so thirsty but no water nor any other drink had been offered to him since they forced him here. He liked to think, whenever he could force himself to think about more than the pain, he liked to think that he wouldn't drink anything anyways, even if they would offer him the sweetest wine or the clearest water. He promised himself that he would not take even one gulp, no he wouldn't because that would have meant that his body would stay alive a bit longer and he wants so desperately to finally die. But it had not mattered anyways because they had not offered him anything at all.

He had tried to ask them why they were doing this to him more than once. He had promised them Gold when they had cut him open, their weight in Gold. He had told them who he was when they tied him down on the Stone, that he was the brother of the Warden of the West. That his family was rich enough to make them drown in Gold if they wished so.

They had not reacted to any of his words and offers. He tried it then in the languages of the Free Cities but they had not reacted to that either.They had only cut him open enough to place the Stone egg into his entrails and then cauterized the cuts. And he had screamed.

..................  
The egg pulsated ever more and more. He felt it pulsate in his belly with the rhythm of his shallow breaths, with his heartbeats, with his thoughts.

He felt it pulsate in his blood and it calmed him so. It sharpened the pain to pure agony again but it also calmed his mind. It promised him vengeance, pure hateful vengeance and that made him happy enough to accept the ever more doubling of the searing agony in his body.

He felt his entrails cooking and fire running through his body. It had cracked open but not top for all to see, no it had cracked open on the deepest part, buried in his entrails and blood. He felt something even deeper inside of him.

He wanted to scream because nothing, even the sweet and numbing promise of of hateful revenge, was enough anymore to endure the uncontrollable pain but he felt something sliding up his throat and keeping him silent. It tore through the inner walls of his throat and swallowed his screams at same time.

He still was alive but barely, when it then slid even higher, up from his throat and into his mouth where it ripped away his tongue and he felt the blood running everywhere. Then this something forced itself even higher, up into his nose and then, finally then, he stopped feeling.

..............  
Four Red clothed priests of R'hllor came running when they no longer heard the screams of the first offering but instead gurgling sounds. They arrived in front of the bound young captive in the same moment when the head of said goldenhaired captive bursts open.

It was not a dragon that escaped the head but a far older Creature. Only one of the priests escaped death long enough, even though he escaped with horrible wounds from this far down in the Dragonstone's deep caverns and lived long enough to tell that the King should know that it was not a Dragon in that Egg but a Firewyrm.

Then the last of the Red Priests died too.

And the Firewyrm feasted on the flesh of the three priests and the one Lion whose blood had nourished him, down below in the deepest Caverns of Dragonstone.

The King's loyal men high up in the Dragon's Castle looked at each other. Their young King will not like this news.

Not a Dragon but a Firewyrm.

...........................  
.....................................  
Firewyrm PoV  
........  
Warmth. Home. Birth. Blood.

.....Sweet blood. Live. Other warmth. Not in shell but soft now.

......Blood.Livegiver. Blood smells like gold.  
Livegiver. Smells like Gold and Lion. No, smells thoughts of Gold and Lion and Hate.  
Hate smells good. Smells like pain. Sweet Blood Lifegiver. Hate taste good. Sweet Blood of Hate.

....Pain tastes good. Lifegiver tastes sweet and good. Lifegiver heart, no more beat. Blood so sweet.

Others here. More beats. Smells like Fire. Not Fire. Other Fire. Bad Fire. Danger. Enemy. ......

Tastes too.Bad Blood. Bad Fire Blood. Bad Enemy. Bad Blood. Bad meat. Sates but bad Taste.....

Lifegiver good taste. Sweet of Hate and Pain and Lion thoughts and Gold thoughts. ...

Enemies bad taste. Old. Sour. Only good to eat but not liking it....

Lifegiver sweet. Liking it ... More.... Want more.... Enemies too. Want Kill. Want Blood. Sweet and Sour. Good and Bad. Lifegiver and Enemy. Want Blood. Want Meat. Want More......

\---------------------------------------------  
\--------------------------------------------------  
Informations:

Copied from ASOIAF Wiki  
...................................

Firewyrms are creatures that breathe fire but have no wings, and are possibly related to dragons. They can bore through rock, soil, and stone. According to old tales, firewyrms were in the Fourteen Flames of the Valyrian peninsula even before the dragons came. Their young are not much bigger than a child's arm, but as they age they can grow to immense sizes. They have no love for men.

Firewyrms were encountered by slaves of the Valyrian Freehold in the mines of the Fourteen Flames. Burnt and blackened corpses were often found in shafts where the rocks were cracked or full of holes.


	25. The King's men in Casterly Rock and the Lions are not impressed

Kevan Lannister sighed exhausted and leaned back into the comfortable Chair and looked to Genna and Tygett. Both his siblings were staring back at him, Genna calculating and Tygett full of neverending anger and energy.

For a short time the room stayed silent though, as each of the siblings still had to work through the informations that they had gained from the letter which the bloodheaded Raven had brought to Casterly Rock.

Just in the moment when the oldest Lannister in the Room opened his mouth and wanted to speak, a knocking was to hear from outside of the Door to the Lord's Solar and Ser Kevan called the person to enter. It was a Captain of the Household Guards who came inside and he brought news of a hundred men from King's Landing having just arrived at the Rock.

A hundred men and a Kingsguard and Ser Jon Connington, all had just arrived at the Rock with orders from the new King.

Ser Kevan and his sister nodded to each other in grim understanding while Tygett slowly tugged out his sword from the scabbard. He then looked to both of his older siblings and nodded before he left with the Captain.

...........

They were not allowed to enter Casterly Rock with all their men and thus only Ser Jonothor and ten of the royal Guards accompanied him when they were led to the currently ruling Lannister's Solar. Jon clenched his teeth in anger about that but he and the Kingsguard Knight were given no other Choice. It was either agreeing to that stipulation or to not enter the damned Lion's den at all, this was the answer given to them when they protested the Lannister's orders.

Jon twisted his head lightly and looked to Ser Jonothor who was walking on his left side. The White Knight was surely as angry as Jon himself felt about the Situation but the older man was also self assured enough and Kingsguard for a long enough time to not show any emotion to the onlookers. Jon hoped that he himself managed to do so when he and Ser Darry would stand before the Lions, he hoped desperately that he would be able to held his temper in check and to not jeopardize Rhaegar's plans. His mind went briefly back to his King and the last Conversation they had with each other before Rhaegar sent him away with Ser Jonothor and the hundred Guards.

How beautiful his King looked, how gentle but firm his words were when he instructed him of what to do if all would go well and what to do if something would go wrong. Jon smiled lightly when he remembered how glorious his dear beloved friend looked, truly a magnificent King already, young and tall and silvery glowing with sparkling gemstone eyes.

The young Ser had to stop his reminiscing when he and his companions were made to stop in front of a large and richly decorated door. The Lannister Courtier who had led them there, alongside with a couple of Red cloaked Guardsmen of course, stepped now to the door and knocked three times. From inside of the Room they all could hear a loud command to enter and after hearing that, the nearest standing Redcloak opened the door and Ser Jonothor and Jon himself entered. None of their Guardsmen were given the Chance to follow them though, for immediately after Jon stepped inside the room, the door was shut behind him.

The Kingsguard and the young Lord turned around and looked to the door in astonished irritation. A loud female voice made them turn away from the door and back to finally acknowledge the persons in the room.

"Sers, when good mannered and well-bred Knights enter a room, especially one in which their betters reside in and even more especially if one of their betters happens to be a Lady, it is a normal behavior for said Knights to offer their betters their respect. Knights do normally so by not showing their backs to their welcoming hosts immediately after entering said hosts Solar."

Ser Jonothor and Jon looked to the woman who had just spoken these rather biting words to them and Jon knew from these words that Casterly Rock would not be friendly territory to them.

The woman who had spoken to them was of course Lady Genna, who was married to the second son of Lord Frey but still resided inside of Casterly Rock and behaved and spoke in the same arrogant and condescending manner as her oldest brother. Jon longed to see her brought down to the same sorry way in which Tywin Lannister had found himself in after he had murdered Rhaegar's father. Patience he told himself, patience and all would be going to be like his beloved King had planned it for in the future.

Sitting in the large and golden wrought Chair of the Warden of the West was Ser Kevan Lannister, who looked with an wry expression to his sister who was sitting in a way less ornate chair by his left side. Ser Kevan gestured to Jon and Ser Darry and bid them to come forward and since both of them had been given a mission by their King, they stepped closer to the Lion siblings and forced themselves to show no worries for doing so without any Guards of their own securing their backs.

The Lannister regent looked to Ser Jonothor first and nodded his head respectfully to the Kingsguard and the White Knight greeted the current most powerful man of the Rock in the same respectful manner. Ser Darry then bowed with clearly to be seen less sincere respect to the Lady Genna, while she herself nodded her greetings tothe Kingsguard with a near malicious smile on her lips.

Jon then forced himself to offer his own respectful nod to the Regent of Casterly Rock, only to receive none such a gesture back from the Lion. The young Ser swallowed this deliberate disrespect shown by the other man and then forced himself to show his respect to the sole woman in the room. Jon bowed as respectful to Lady Genna as Ser Jonothor had done before him to the Lady and received an even more mocking smirk from her back for his gesture.

Before either of the King 's men could then open their mouth to speak though, the door opened behind them and while both men forced themselves to not turn around and look, they could see in the faces of both Lion siblings that whoever entered was not one of their hundred Guardsmen. Both Lannisters in front of them smiled and then Ser Kevan fixed his eyes again on Ser Jonothor and Jon. The young Connington felt a shiver running down his spine for the Regents mien looked like a Lion on the Hunt. Jon looked to Ser Jonothor and saw that the White Knight was slowly touching his scabbard.......

Tygett had entered the room again and was accompanied by two of their most trustworthy Guard Captains. All three now stood behind the two King's men and watched their every move.

While his face gave nothing away, the Kingsguard was carefully touching his scabbard, his swordhand quite visibly all to ready to grip the pommel and to unsheat his sword if he would find himself in the need to do so. The younger man beside him though, still nearly a boy, was yet lacking this deeply ingrained knightly reflex but instead scowled openly towards Kevan and herself.

Genna slowly let her eyes glide from both of their Visitors back to her older brother and forced herself not to chuckle upon his predatory expression. Even she had never thought after all that dear and reliable Kevan could look so much like Tywin in his most voracious moments. She felt so satisfied with the knowledge about that.

Her eyes left her older brother and went back to their younger brother. Tygett stood there, flanked by both Guardsmen, back to the door and eyes to their visitors, ready to spill their blood if they both would even do one wrong move.

She decided to lean back and watch the reactions of their unwelcome visitors after Kevan harrumphed loudly and then finally started to speak.

"Ser Jonothor, your companion was named by our Courtier who told us of your arrival, as Ser Jon Connington. Now, the only Jon Connington which I knew of, is just about fourteen namedays old and thus too young to be named a Knight and thus should not be introduced as Ser Jon, or should he?" Kevan asked instead of a welcome.

The White Knight looked startled about her brother's question but Genna was more interested in the young Connington's reaction and she looked with real satisfaction that the young ones face first turned pale as milk under all his freckles and mop of red hair and that then two blood red spots showed up on his smooth cheeks. His breathing grew quicker and his hand gripped his pommel and already unsheathed the sword halfway out of its scabbard before he was quickly stopped by Tygett's fast rush forwards. The young Griffin could clearly be quickly goaded to loose his temperament and thus to make easy mistakes. All the better for her brothers and herself to gain the upper hand.

She looked over the young ones shoulder and her eyes met those of her younger brother who was now standing directly behind the younger visitor and who used his greater strength to press down the swordhand of Jon Connington with his own one and thus to resheat the Griffin's sword. Tygett looked to her with a mix of barely concealed amusement about the pure stupidity of the younger man and with also barely constraint anger about the pure audacity of the young one to even try such an act.

Her gaze left her brother and she then looked to the White Knight again, whose hand was also still on his own sword but who made not the mistake to tug it out. Instead Ser Jonothor was taking deep and steady breaths and his eyes never left Kevan's face, as if to make sure that her dear older brother would not give any order of attack against the visitors.

Genna kept quiet herself and thus for few moments the only noise in the Grand Solar were the different sounds of breathing by the six people inside. It was actually quite interesting how different breathing sounds could be.

It lasted not for long though, Kevan had opened the letter which they had received from the King many days ago and read aloud from it, then he did the same to the nearly identical sounding letter of Gerion, which had reached them with the same Raven.

kaiidth said:  
To the Lord Regent of House Lannister

Most honored Ser Kevan Lannister,

with great sorrow in my heart i write you this letter.  
My dearest Mother and i have lost the head of our House and all of the Seven Kingdoms have lost one of their most promising Kings ever.

My honored and beloved Father, King Aerys the second of his name has lost his live in a tragic accident and after the honors of our ancient ways were given to him and he will be entombed at the New Moon, we all will have to find the new Will to go own with this life and do our duty.

It is in this same accident, that the Lord Hand and your most honorable Brother, Lord Tywin Lannister was hurt quite badly. Lord Tywin is currently unable to write but your brother Ser Gerion wrote for him of what has happened. As Ser Gerion surely wrote, it is Lord Tywins great wish that his oldest two children should be sent to him here in Kings Landing. 

I already sent Ser Jonothor Darry of my Kingsguard and my good friend the Squire Jon Connington along with a hundred riders as Honor Guard, to meet you on your way.

I would like to invite you thus and of course the whole of your most prestigious family and most honorable Lords, to come to King's Landing and to be guests to the ceremony of my coronation to which i hope that Lord Tywin will be then strong enough again to attend too.My dearest Mother would welcome Lord Tywin's daughter as one of her Ladies with a sad but loving heart and such a young and kind Lady would surely help her greatly to ease her pain about her husbands death.

Lord Tywin's son though shall be my Cupbearer, as it is his honorable father's wish.

In the spirit of deep friendship that our Houses share....  
Rhaegar Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms

After Kevan had finished with both letters, he laid them aside and stood up. He stepped towards the Kingsguard, stopped barely a handspan away from him and looked him directly into the eyes.

"These were the only news which we had received, none before these for many a days and none after these since then. I had sent back the Raven to the new King with a letter asking for more information, just a day after i had received these letters. I am still waiting for any answers about our brothers from King's Landing.

And then you and this boy who is named as Squire in the letter arrive here and he is introduced as a Knight without further explanation. It makes me wonder what other things are different than as they had been written in the King's letter.

We had received no news from any of our brothers, we had received no information about any of our tradesmen and merchants for way more than a fortnight, nearly twenty days now to be true, no other Ravens arrived here either during these times but the one carrying the two letters of Prince Rhaegar, who is now suddenly King and our youngest Brother Gerion, who was the last time when i had heard from him, still in the free Cities." Kevan ended with a harsh Voice.

She looked to both of the King's men for any reaction but her brother was not even in the mind to allow any other words but his own in the moment, or so it seemed, for already he started to speak again.

"You see, Ser Jonothor of the Kingsguard, it is highly unusual when a boy who is even mentioned as a Squire in the new King's letter, arrives here barely a few weeks later as Knight. Had young Connington managed to do such a marvelous deed during the last couple of days, that he became already a Knight with barely fourteen namedays or was it a misinformation of your King, a mistake maybe or was it a favor from one Squire to another. One Squire who now seems to be our new King and who gifted his friend a Knighthood, was it that?" Kevan asked nearly aggressively.

Genna could nearly taste the humiliation of the young Griffin when Ser Jonothor reluctantly told them that the last thing was really the reason for the sudden Knighthood of the youngest man in the room. She watched as Tygett scoffed behind the juvenile red-haired Knight, her dear brothers mien clearly showed his contempt.

Kevan started to speak again and she forced her eyes back to the Kingsguard, who clearly disliked that he was under such a scrutiny by her and her brothers. She watched as the Riverlander Knight started to become uncomfortable when Kevan asked then the really important questions.

"Now, as you can imagine Ser Jonothor, not one of us really cared that young Connington was knighted by you just because the King ordered you to do it. It just proved to me and my siblings that the letters are not entirely true or that they missed quite a lot of information.  
Now, what would really be of interest to us Lannisters is where our Lord is and where our youngest brother is and why we had not heard again from them.  
What would really be of interest for House Lannister, is what kind of injuries the head of our House has and how well he is now but we received no further information from King's Landing.  
If the Head of our House would have really sent for his children to be brought to him, if Tywin would have agreed to that,he surely would be well enough to write himself, surely we would have by now received more information from King's Landing, maybe even another letter by our youngest brother, wouldn't we?"

She felt never so proud of Kevan before as she did now. He was ...intimidating, nearly as good as Tywin was when he was really angry. Genna forced herself to not start laughing out of sheer malicious glee when she watched how both King's men tried to swallow down their beginning panic and not to show their clear helplessness during Kevan's verbal attack.

While Kevan sat back down into the Lord's Chair and both the unwelcome visitors started to sweat, the Griffin of course way more than the Kingsguard, Genna thought back to the letter which the Lannister siblings had received the last night, brought to them by a Raven with headfeathers streaked with dried blood.The letter which Kevan of course had not mentioned to Rhaegar's men. The letter that told them more than they had even feared for.

To the siblings of Tywin Lannister.  
If you have received news from Rhaegar Targaryen, now King of Westeros, know that you should not believe anything he or others write you but this what now follows.  
Tywin Lannister was tortured by a mad King Aerys who had already tortured the Grandmaester to death. Why the torture happened is not important, know only that it happened out of madness of the King. Aerys was killed by Lord Tywin, who in his great pain was desperate and fought for his life and managed to rip out the old Kings Throat with just his teeth and with pure desperation.  
Instead of giving Lord Tywin the Chance to heal enough so that he could prove himself in a trial by combat, or giving him the Chance to name a Champion for himself, the new King decided to use this Chance to rid himself of Tywin Lannister for good and to force him to fight for himself before he is healthy enough to do so. Ser Hightower, who had sworn to end the Live of Lord Tywin was only too happy to weaken my patient even more by breaking Lord Tywin's jaw and a couple of ribs, barely a week after your brother had received many lacerations on his chest and uncountable and deep lacerations on his back, some of them bonedeep.  
I managed to keep Lord Tywin alive after all of this, also through the later damaging done by Ser Gerold and I will try my best to leave this City with my Patient.

Maester H.

Kevan, all that you have just read is true. Ignore anything from the King.

To show you that I am truly your brother, I ask you to remember the words I told you when I had my tenth nameday.  
"For I swear to you brother, these days will not last forever, these days of them........................,this I swear true as a true Lion of the West."  
Remember these words Kevan and you know that I am truly,  
Tywin Lannister and that this letter is the only truth which comes out of the Capitol.

Your brother is still weak but I have my ways. You will receive news from me and your brother as soon as possible. We have heard nothing about your youngest brother after he was forced away from Lord Tywin. He might be dead.

Let the Raven fly but do not try to give him any message, he distrusts all but me and a few others.

a last word..  
The old King had ordered all Ravens entering and leaving the City to be shot and the order might be still standing under the new King. The same might be true for any people who carry informations in and out, at least quite a lot went missing before I was brought into the Red Keep to care for Lord Tywin.

Maester H.

Genna still felt the anger after reading this letter and while she and Tygett had grown hot with anger, Kevan had become silent after rereading the words a couple of times, absolutely silent, completely still and chalkwhite. She and Tygett had already feared that he had becoming catatonic, when just then he had raged with a Volume that she never thought possible of dear Kevan. He raged and screamed for a long time until he finally became calm again. His green eyes glittered like wildfyre though and he clenched his teeth in a nearly jawbreaking way.

It was then when all three siblings made their plans about the future behavior towards the Targaryens. And they were not friendly plans.

Her mind left the last night and she forced herself to concentrate on their opponents now, live and in flesh. These lackeys of the lying Boyking had stepped into the Lion's den and now they were prey. Genna's eyes searched for her younger brother and after she had seen that the two Guardsmen had now stepped to his sides and all three were standing directly behind the  
King's men, she turned her eyes to Kevan.

Her dearest brother had the same cold mien that Tywin had had many years ago when he had planned the destiny of the House Reyne.


End file.
